When I Love You, Will You Love Me Back, Jack?
by Ladystarlet09
Summary: Four years after the Red Eye flight and events, Lisa is trying to move on with her life, but Jackson's presence keeps interfering with the process. Why does she still have feelings for him after all what he did to her? And most importantly, did he or does he, have some sort of feelings other then hate towards her? Rate M for Sex, Strong Lang, etc. I don't own any of the Red Eye Ctr
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue **

* * *

Lisa thought that her life was back on track after it had been four long years since that ill-fated red- eye flight she had taken and had her whole life dramatically changed upside down by a single madman.

Someone who's piercing blue eyes has haunted her every waking moment and dreams at night.

Someone who she believed for a single moment, even as she had stared down at his fallen form after her father had shot him four times in the back, felt that he had some good inside him, despite the fact that he had tried to kill her.

Someone who had touched a lost cord within herself in the moment that he locked themselves both in the airplane lavatory and saw the scar upon her breast and the unfamiliar look of anger took root in those blue eyes.

Something had clicked in his mind. Something that even to this day, four years after the attack and foiled plans of assassinating Keefe and his family, Lisa still felt that human side she had seen within those few brief moments within Jackson Rippner's eyes and face.

"This is total bullshit." Lisa whispered to herself as she sat in the tiny apartment that she had brought three months after the accident. Her father had adamantly refused to have her move out, fearing that she would be more traumatized after what had happened to her. But after much arguing, tears and pleading that she was only doing this for her own self so she could regain some normalcy in her life, her father finally relented and allowed her to move out.

Why Lisa did what she did, she wouldn't or couldn't even answer that question herself as she fought to push past the memoires. Memories of his smile, his laughter, his touch, scent, and intoxicating feeling she got even when he had hurt her and tried to kill her after she foiled his plans.

_Because you loved him, Lisa._ Her mind told her over and over again. _You can't deny it, even how much you try to; Jack is much as part of your life now as he was in those seven hours on the plane. Your heart had opened up to him the moment he saw the scar and anger coursed through his body and eyes. _

"I don't love him." Lisa said out loud to the walls of her apartment. "I can't love him for hurting me like this." She whispered as tears began to prick her eyes and fall down her fair cheeks. "Why did you do this to me, Jack?" She said as she allowed herself to fall onto the leather sofa and curl herself around a pillow, staring out her apartment window at nothing in particular.

Why did she even love someone who was hell bent on destroying another person's life and still say in her mind that he was only doing his job when it was obvious that he was a terrorist.?

A terrorist who invaded her heart and mind and still did when she found out that he survived the gunshots in his back and was sent to federal prison. Lisa still remembered the look of regret within those blue eyes when he sought her out at the federal courtroom hearing.

She had shivered with both excitement and fear as she bravely faced him and told the court everything of what took place between them.

Except the one part when they were locked in the lavatory together. She on purposely left that part out and inside her mind, she was pleased at the shocked look on his face when he noticed that she didn't tell them about what he had said and done to her in that tiny bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey ladystarlet here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 1 Why?**

* * *

"I am going to ask you again, Leese." Jackson had told her calmly with that same half smirk, but serious expression in his eyes that he meant business. "Why didn't you tell them the _full_ story?" He asked her when she requested a privately only face to face talk before he was sentenced to serving ten years for what he did. It was only him and her in a small interviewing room.

No cameras.

No see-through window glass.

No one to witness what was being said between her and her would-be-killer.

It was only Lisa and Jackson alone in that small room. He was handcuffed of course to the steel chair that he sat upon as she sat across from him, heart beating face as his gaze darken for a moment with an unknown emotion behind he hide it all under a cold mask of indifference.

She didn't let his dominant stare make her back away. Instead, she just calmly sat there, legs crossed and face free of any emotions that she was feeling as she wished that they weren't even in this predicament. "I didn't feel that it was any of importance, Jackson." She calmly replied. "Why should they know when it would be that I'd have to tell the story of my own past with the rape?"

Jackson smirked and shook his head. "You are always full of surprises, Leese." He said softly, because he was still recovering from the pen wound she had given him when she was trying to escape from his clutches on the plane. "But that's a lie in itself." He leaned forward as much as his restraints allowed. "And you know it deep down." He added in a whisper. She shivered inwardly from the caress that his smooth voice had upon her mind and soul.

God, who was she to even request that they be locked in this room without any protection while the jury debated behind closed doors.

Because she loved him.

It was simple as that.

Lisa opened her mouth but no voice spoke. It was like she was being held in a spell as Jack just sat back into his seat and stared with those piercing blue eyes.

"What if I told you that I was attracted to you the first time you and I had met before the flight?" She managed to say in a seemingly normal voice. Jackson's jaw tic several times but he remained stone still as she crossed her arms over herself as if to protect what was left of her sanity from his gaze. "I didn't tell you this after we got out of the bathroom, but you were the only one made me yearn for a man's actual touch and love."Lisa continued as she allowed her gaze to slip from his face to the table between them. "I asked myself since that moment why I even allowed you to touch me, to make me feel like a woman who deserved to be loved tenderly when all you were was just a terrorist who was bent on killing innocent people. I couldn't let my feelings for you get in the way of what I needed to do out there in the courtroom. I couldn't let them know that you are my only weakness in my heart and soul."

Jackson shifted in his seat. "What are you trying to tell me, Lisa?" He said point-blank. "What do you want from me anyway?"

Lisa lifted her chin and stared into his eyes and saw the unleashed emotions swirling within his eyes. "Is it bad to say that I love you, Jackson Rippner?"

The man let out a small sigh and shrugged his shoulder's, wincing as it brought a bit of pain from his still healing wounds. "I honestly don't know what to say to you, Lisa." He told her finally after several long moments of silence stood between them. "But, if that is indeed how you feel about me, then you always had known that I never intended to hurt your father or in the first place. It just things kind of got a little dicey after that stunt you pulled on both me and my co-worker and I had no other choice but to find some way of making you stay quite."

"So you would have killed me in the end if I refused?" She shot at him.

Jackson shook his head at her as a small smile touched his lips."No, I would have tried to reason with you while I spared your father's life. If anything, I wanted to badly to touch your soul and tell you that I was sorry for what I had put you through during the flight and after. But," He paused for a moment.

"But what?" Lisa pressed him, her breathing becoming heavy as she listened to him with a surprising opened mind. "What changed your mind?"

"Your father shot me in the back before I could even try to start to reason, Leese." He finished. "Which leaves us here in this room." He waved a hand in the general room that they were sitting in. "If there is anything that you want to say further to me before the authorities come hull my ass off back into the courtroom, then get it done and over with while you still have time."

Even to this day, four years after that day she had faced him that little room, Lisa had questioned herself why she allowed herself to be so vulnerable and open to him.

"I want a kiss from you, Jackson."

"I beg your pardon?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Please tell me that you didn't go mad on me."

Lisa shook her head at him before hurrying to the door and opening it. Sticking her head out, she sought out his lawyer that was standing a little ways off from the doorway. "Mr. McCay?" She called.

The Lawyer looked up from his blackberry in surprise. "Yes, ?" He answered. "What is it?"

"Mr. Rippner said that he needs a little more time before he goes back. He wants to say a few last words to me." She lied in an even face.

Mr. McCay's eyebrow lifted but he only gave a slight node in agreement before turning around to inform the federal agents nearby. "Just dont' take too long, Miss. Reinsert." He advised as he walked away.

Lisa silently withdrew her head and shut the door behind her, noting the sound of keys firmly locking the security lock in place as she returned to her seat. Jackson merely smiled fondly at her. "You sure have a thing of convincing people, Leese."He said as he warily watched her face. "What are you thinking right now in that little head of yours?" He added in a whisper.

"Just fulfilling what I need from you before you get sent into the slammer, Jackson." She replied as she stood up and dragged the table a few feet away from him.

Jackson let a small laugh. "And just what kind of mind games are you planning to play on me in a span of fifteen minutes, Leese?" As she stood before him, her face slightly flushed from her exertions. "Set me free or perhaps something else that you don't want to say out loud?"

"I'd rather show you without words." Lisa replied before slowly unbuttoning her white blouse underneath her navy blue business jacket. "You had a change to show me your own side other then the violent once that I saw from you after you played with my heart." She said as his gaze sharpen with each button she undid. "Why can't I extract a little revenge myself?" She smiled softly as the blouse fell away, revealing the naked breasts that were hidden underneath before.

"You don't know what you are playing with, Lisa." Jackson warned as she sat in his lap, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. His high cheekbones were flushed with his growing arousal as he lowered his gaze and found the scare upon her left breast. "You deserve better then me, Lisa." He raised his eyes back up to her green ones. "But if you continue to play with me like this, remember that once its been sealed, I will forever be apart of your life."

His hands tightly grabbed her sides, pressure from his fingers digging into her flesh as he bent his head towards her and nuzzled one soft pillow of flesh. Lisa let out a soft gasp as he placed a gentle kiss upon her scar. What came over her? Why is she allowing herself to be touched and tainted by his own power even though he was fully restrained.

"Because I love him." She whispered to herself as she felt his mouth take one of her harden nipples and suckle firmly until she was wiggling against his growing bulge beneath herself. "Jack."

"I _will_ come back for you someday, Lisa once this is over." Jackson warned when he finally pulled back his head to smirk up at her. Lisa forced herself to stare into his blue orbs, remembering them well in her mind since these were going to be the final moments before they were to be separated by iron prison bars. Jackson wished with all his heart that he could touch her face, hair, lips and even touch that scar upon her breast once more. He had did too much pain to her and it hurt him mentally and emotionally with that knowledge. "And when I do come back, Leese." He said hoarsely. "I will steal you for myself."

Lisa couldn't bring herself to say anything more as she felt him kiss her breasts once more. She only close her eyes and allowed him the sweet moment of tasting and smelling her scent before it was all over for them both.

"I'm still waiting for that kiss, Lisa."

Lisa felt his fingers caress her thighs where he could reach them as she got up and quickly buttoned up her shirt as she tried to control her heavy breathing. A small knock on the door alerted them both that their time together was drawing near to a close before they would all go back into the courtroom to hear the jury's verdict.

"Kiss me, Lisa." Jack commanded darkly. "Kiss me and remember who you belong to in the end."

She licked her lips as she stared at his own. "I'm never yours." She told him defiantly. "At least not yet."

"I'd like to hear you say those words again, my pretty vixen." He laughed low. "Just do it before they come in here and you miss your opportunity."

Lisa felt herself sit upon his lap once more and felt his breathing grow heavy with hers as she loward her head at an angle to brush her lips against his. Jackson groaned as he tasted wild berry and the sweet taste of her lips. She started to pull back but Jackson tightened his grip on her thighs, challenging her to pull away from him. "Don't." He said firmly. With that being said, he captured her lips in brutal kiss, forcing her to open her lips to his as his tongue pressed forward to gain entry. Lisa felt her head swim in all of the earth's directions. He was making her feel needy, hot, emotionally disabled as pleasure swept her mind to another place.

Only Jackson Rippner could make her feel this way.

Jackson suddenly pulled his head away, breathing hard as sweat poured down his brown. "Get off."

Lisa silently stood on shaky legs as she straighten herself as best as she could with trembling fingers. Jackson gave himself the male satisfaction of actually smiling at her flushed complexion and swollen lips. No way of hiding that from the authorities.

"Are you happy now, Miss. Reisert?" He asked her, purposely hoping to throw her off her game.

"I was happy until you came into my life, Jack." Lisa replied as she headed towards the door, only to stop mid way and turn back to him. She felt her heart break at the slight look of defeat in his eyes. "I will be waiting when you have served your sentence. Just don't expect any letters from me in the meantime."

"And what perhaps a memento of you so that I can remember that promise while I am rotting in jail during my sentence?" Jackson smiled very smoothly at her. "Surely you have something that I can easily hide on my person."

Lisa hesitated. There was only one thing she did keep on her that she never gave much thought of until this very moment. Reaching down, she removed a small pearl ring from one of her fingers and slipped it into one of his handcuffed hands when she came back to him. "This was given to me by my grandmother a few months before she died." She said quietly as his fingers closed over it. "Just make sure that you don't lose it while you get into fights with the inmates."

Jackson didn't say anything as he watched her knock on the door to signal the guards that she was ready to leave. Nor, did she even bother to give him a backwards glance as she exited the room. He pretended to act bored as his lawyer stepped into the room and took a seat in the same one she had sat in.

"Well? What did you do this time?" Jackson smirked. "Give a lesser charge on the battery that I did on Miss. Reisert?"

McCay ignored the sarcasm as he opened up his files. "No, but we did manage to get you a four and half years prison serving since she dropped most of the charges against you at the last minute." He replied.

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did she now? Then how long do you think I have before my employers decide to get a little fickle about me being locked up and make plans of perhaps using her as an asset for their own goals?"

McCay shrugged. "I already spoke with them. They said that they have no intentions of hurting her or possibly removing her from the picture while you are serving your time. They only want you to finish the job once you are out."

"And the girl?"

"They said do whatever you want. It was your own call when you chose to involve her like this. And if you don't mind me saying, you seem rather fond of her, Jackson." McCay acknowledged with a gleam in his eyes. "If you want my advice, I'd keep surveillance on her at all times while you are in prison if you want to see her alive and well once you are done."

Jackson smiled widely at him as federal agents started to walk in the door to retrieve him. "I already have made the arrangements, McCay." He said simply.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 2 Reasons of his own.****  
**

* * *

Twenty four hours.

Those were the hours that Jackson was counting down to as he sat back in his secluded cell, starting at the small pearl ring that he kept on a handmade chain that made after being allowed to keep it after he was checked into the high security federal prison.

Four long years of waiting for his release as his bosses worked on assignments without him. The same people that he entrusted Lisa Reisert's life in their hands while he was all lock under key and watch. Jackson was still touched strangely by her last words when she told him that she was going to be waiting for him until then. He knew as a well as she did that once he was a free man, he'd be coming straight for her and make her his.

_Strange that you would be so obsessed with such a woman._ He told himself in his mind. Perhaps obsession wasn't the right word. Perhaps it was more then just the hate, anger, spit and...love that he felt whenever he caught himself remembering her scent and sighs of pleasure when he kissed her.

How was it that a cold killer like himself be fallen over heels for the woman who fought him back with teeth and nails? He didn't deserve her pity when she stared back in horror after being shot in the back by her father. He didn't even deserve to hear those words _"Because I love him"_ when she thought he wasn't paying attention while he had made a brief moment of love to her body.

Jackson deserved to be alone.

"Hey, Jackson."

Sighing, Jackson put away the ring underneath his prison uniform and turned around to face his cellmate, a heavy, buff looking latino man who was serving time for the murder of his ex-wife and her lover. "What is it, Santigo?"

"You've been here with me for four years now and in less than twenty-four hours, you are going to walk free." Santigo said as he leaned himself off his cell bed on one arm. "I have wondered why you never talked about the girl who gave you that ring." He nodded towards Jackson's chest. "You must be a lucky man to have them allow you to keep it."

Jackson's hand instinctively went up to the necklace. He couldn't lose the only item that linked Leese and him. "And what of it?" He snapped irritable. "There is many girls out there that I know."

Santigo chuckled. "Yeah, but not so much that this one makes your cold blue eyes turn soft whenever you look at the ring." He tilted his head to once side. "Tell me, what is it like to love her when your heart is broken?"

The question caught Jackson off guard. "I beg your pardon?" He asked in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"I once loved my dead wife dearly, Jackson. Loved her like no other woman until our marriage broke apart due to my drinking and drug use." The other man replied as he laid his head on his pillow. "I see that you love this girl fiercely if you have kept it so well during this whole time. Perhaps when you get out of this hell hole of the shits, you will find her and make her see reasons." Santigo turned his head and found Jackson starting at him with those blue eyes. "She has healed your broken heart and you haven't yet seen it."

"I don't understand why she could find love in such a person as myself after I tried to kill her with my bare hands." Jackson whispered. "Why is that, Santigo?"

The cellmate shrugged as he tried to find a comfortable spot on his bunk-bed. "I dunno, but like I said before, Jackson." He replied with a small sad smile. "You must be one lucky man."

Jackson turned his face away and stared out the prison bars where he could see the security guards pacing up and down the many levels of the prison itself. Loud noises of fights, cursing, screaming and such echoed throughout the place. He remembered all too well of the moment Leese had turned on him on the plane. He remembered all the injuries she had inflicted upon his body. It took him more then a year and half of therapy and pain-meds from his bosses to heal everything and return him back to normal.

Except that he was no longer normal thanks to his Leese.

She changed him just as much as he change her. They both needed each other and she had already came close to admitting to him in that interview. Jackson allowed his feelings to get in the way during the mission on many occasion just because he was drawn to her. He had seen the fear in her green eyes when she stared up at him after he had tackled her in her home and laid the knife to her neck. But when she pleaded for him to spare his life, Jackson had felt all the anger and hate that he held inside just die away in a flash. All he had seen was a scared young woman who had already been brutally violated by another man against her will. He hate himself for making her be scared of him after being so nice to her. Jackson instead, had put away his knife and softly kissed the hollow spot of her neck before she had headbutted him and there...

The rest was history.

"I just wanted to say that I only wish you the best and hope that somehow you are able to make it up to your girl." Santigo said quietly before turning onto his side to fall asleep.

The lights shut off a few minutes later, leaving everything in the dark as Jackson just sat on his bunk, staring out into the darkness. "Lisa, I told you that I would come and make you mine." He said to himself. "You just better be prepared for it when I show up on your doorstep tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 3 You leave me burning****  
**

* * *

_**~The next day~**_

"Number 504." The head security officer called from in front of the cell early in the morning.

"What is it?" Jackson said as he groggily sat up in bed, blinking under the harsh glare of the flashlight shining through the bars.

"Its time for you to go." The officer replied as he signaled for his fellow guardsmen to unlock the door. "Stand up with your hands in front of you."

Jackson glanced over at the sleeping form of his cellmate and found him peeking with one eye. He gave Jackson a small wink and smile as the guards came in to handcuff him. "Good luck." He whispered. Jackson merely nodded as they started to push him forward.

It was finally here. Freedom and its crisp taste go his blood pumping as they walked down the many levels and corridors to where his lawyer, McCay was awaiting him in the visitors room.

The laywer let out a small welcome smile as Jackson was escorted in and un-cuffed. "Its good to see that you have kept up your body shape, Jackson." McCay said as he looked him over with an approving nod. "Not bad for four years, eh?"

"Looks who's talking." Jackson smirked as he was handed a black suit and leather shoes. "You seemed to have gained a little more weight since we last talked." Jackson goaded him as he started to strip down so he could dress.

"Well, a man who has a good wife does tends to gain a little weight." McCay replied in an injured voice.

"Speaking of which," Jackson said casually as he slipped into a white sleeveless shirt. "What is the latest update with Lisa?"

McCay let out a small sigh. "Its always the same. She, as you know, has moved into a small apartment in the city and is still working at the hotel. But her sister as of late has been given the manager position so Lisa can have more time on her hands." His forehead puckered a little. "If you ask me, its like she's waiting for your return, Jackson."

"I don't doubt it she is." Jackson muttered under his breath, shrugging into his jacket before putting on his pants. "Do you have the address to her place?"

The lawyer pushed a small leather book towards him on the table. "Everything you need to know is in this book." He looked up at Jackson's calculating eyes. "Just what do you plan on doing now that you are a free man?"

"Finish up what I was supposed to do and see what loose ends I can somehow connect with Lisa."

"So you are planning of following through with the plans that your bosses want?"

"Of course." Jackson snorted as he turned around to face him. "But first, I need a ride to her house."

"Ah, if you are asking me to take you, think twice." McCay said as he hastily stood up and gathered his things. "Besides, you already have a car ready for you outside."

Jackson smiled at the nervous look on his lawyer's face as they headed with the guards to the exits. "I never was going to ask you in the first place." He said as they went though several security screens. "I was only stating."

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say. I just hope that I don't see you in this scenario anytime soon." McCay told him once they cleared the main gate. He turned towards Jackson with a hand out. "Well, this is where I say goodbye and hope for good."

"Of course." Jackson smiled as he took his hand into his and gave it a firm shake. "Thanks for the help." He let go and started to walk to a black car where two unfamiliar men stood by. "Who the fuck are you guys?" Jackson snapped as he approached them.

They exchanged looks with each other before turning back to him. "We are your bodyguards, Mr. Rippner." One of the replied as he held open the back passenger door. "Where to?"

"2000 Court, Apt 6. I have some personal business to take care of before the day is over." Jackson replied as he buckled his seat belt in place.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Meanwhile at Lisa's apartment, she was eating breakfast while watching the local news when her cell phone rang. She let out a low curse as she lowered the sound and checked the caller ID.

It was an unknown number.

Lisa finished chewing and swallowed as she pressed the call button. "Hello?"

"Lisa, did you hear the news?" Her sister yelled into the phone. "Jackson was released this morning!"

Lisa dropped the phone from nerveless fingers as she saw the news on the TV screen of Jackson emerging from the prison gates dressed in a well tailored suit. He looked straight at one of the cameras with those familer piercing blue eyes that still made her insides melt and boil at the same time.

"Lisa! Are you there?" Cynthia frantically called on the other end. "Did you hear what I just said?"

Slowly, very slowly, she reached down and picked up her fallen cellphone as her heart began to pound in her roaring ears. "Yes, I heard you sis." She replied in a odd voice. "Listen, I need to get somethings ready. I"ll call you later."

"Leese, you need to get out of there! What if he desides to come after you and finish you off?" Cynthia cried, horrified by what she was seeing in her mind.

"I'll be fine, lil sis." Lisa assured her as she leaned her head against her palm to fight off the ache that was beginning to build up in her temples.

"But-" Cynthia protested.

"I said no!" Lisa suddenly snapped. "I can take care of myself." She added in a softer tone after hearing the shocked gasp on the other line. "He isn't going to hurt me."

"But how do you know that for sure? He was visibly upset with we foiled his assassination attempt on Senator Keef. I mean he almost killed you!"

Lisa let out a frustrated sigh. "I have to go now, sis." She hung up the phone and froze. The back of her neck began to prick as the hair stood up.

She was being watched. Lisa could sense it and feel the mixed emotions behind the stare in it as she stood very still, trembling visibly from head to toe.

"Jackson." She whispered.

A low, all too familiar husky male chuckle from behind her conformed her worse fear as a feeling of joy, anger, and excitement mixed with one another.

Four years he had been locked up after she had given a taste of herself to him freely.

Lisa closed her eyes as the heavy footsteps slowly approached where she was standing and come to a stop. She felt his body heat and warm breath touch her shivering skin as a hand came up and touched a stray tendril of hair. Jackson sniffed her hair before putting in place behind her ear, his fingers lingering over her exposed skin. "Its been a long time since I remembered what you smell like." He whispered in her ear. "You leave me burning inside every time I had envisioned what you tasted like under my tongue."

Lisa swallowed hard. "I'm glad that I left an lingering impression on you." She managed to say as she continued to shake under his touch.

Jackson gently grabbed her shoulder and forced her to turn towards him where he could get a better look of her face. Lisa hadn't changed much in four years, except the slight bags underneath her eyes from lack of sleep. He stared at her, concern being the forefront of his expression as he tilted her face upwards towards his.

"I told you that I would come for you." He whispered softly. Her eyes widen slightly, but didn't show much else as he searched for what she felt for him. "Do you still feel the same for me as you did four years ago before I went into the slammer?"

She fought the urge to laugh at his question. What did he think? That she would forget him so easily after giving a part of herself to him? "I still think often of your eyes and voice, Jack." She crooked between dry lips. Jackson's eyes darken for a moment before he very slowly brought her closer against his body, his arms wrapping around her shoulders as she leaned her head against his beating heart.

"I know, Leese." He replied, placing a small kiss on top of her head. "I just wish that things were different back then."

"There is many things that you and I wish were different." She said as she pushed herself out of his arms and went to stand a little ways off, wrapping her arms around her middle. Turning around, she found that he was wearing a guarded blank mask. "Are you here to finish off what you couldn't do last time?"

Jackson's familer smile came into view as he looked around the whole apartment. "Its a nice place to live here, Leese." He said casually. Looking back at her startle face, he smiled further. "Its just a shame that its missing a man in the decor."

"There has been a few from time to time." She said bravely. Jackson froze as he was picking up a book from the nearby coffee table. Lisa slowly backed away as a look of pure male rage took place of the bemused look that was there a few second ago. "Jackson..." She pleaded as he slowly allowed the book to slip from his grasp and started to stalk towards her. "I-I didn't mean any of it!" She held out her hands in front of her as he came nearer towards her.

Her mind was starting to panic as she looked for any means of escape from the room. Her eyes landed on the open bathroom door and she sprung for it, nearly tripping over herself as she blindly ran for the door.

"Not so fast, Leese." Jackson snarled as he went after her. She screamed as she reached the door and felt her hair being pulled by his powerful grip. "Do you honestly think that telling me such bullshit will get me to were you want me?" He hissed in her ear as she began to cry from the pain in her scalp. "Answer me!" He tighten his grip until she was begging him to let go.

"I don't want you anymore!" Lisa screamed at him before kicking him in the groin. He grunted but didn't let go as he crushed her in a bear hug and threw them both towards the bathroom floor with him on top of her. Lisa started to scream, but he immediately put a hand over her mouth as he leaned forward towards her, his face still angry. "Shut up, Lisa or else I will be forced to gag you." He warned. She struggled a few times under him but soon gave up as he pressed more of his weight on her slender body. "Are you going to be good?" He whispered in her ear with a chuckle.

Lisa slowly nodded her head at him. Jackson reached up a hand, ignoring the flinch of her face as he cupped her chin in his fingers. "So now where were we?"

"You were trying to kill me for saying that I have been with other men." She said between clinched teeth.

"Who said anything about me killing you for that? He asked with another of his bemused smiles. "I have something better in mind then that."

Lisa lowered her eyes and caught sight of something familiar hiding within his shirt. Letting out surprised gasp, she grabbed his lapels of his jacket, not caring if she was wrinkling it in the process as she pulled it out and saw that it was the pearl ring that she had given him. "You still have it, Jack!" She cried, not sure if she should be either happy or upset for knowing that he didn't forget about her.

"Yes, and what do you want me to say? I'm so happy of it?" Jackson snapped as he sat up on his elbows for support so he didn't crush her further.

"You were the one who asked me to give you something!" She snapped at him, her built up anger now coming to the surface.

Before he could respond, his inner breast pocket vibrated several times. Jackson cursed low and reach inside to pick up, ignoring her pleas to allow her to get up at least so she could breath. "Jackson." He answered.

"We need to see you tomorrow, Jackson." A gruff voice replied. "_Don't_ be late." He warned before hanging up abruptly.

"As you wish." Jackson muttered as he shoved his cellphone in his pants pocket before turning his attention back to Lisa. "I warned you that once the deal was sealed, there would be no turning back once I was set in your life forever." He reminded her. Lisa tried to turn her face away from his, but his hand grabbed her face between his fingers. "No!" He hissed. "I have spend fucking four years imagining your reaction to my eventual return. Don't think I will allow you to remain submissive again."

She couldn't handle him much more if he continued to burn her like this."Jack, please just stop it already." She began to cry, tears running freely down her pale cheeks as he stared at her. "Just stop it." She begged him.

Jackson felt remorse fill his heart and he immediately tried to wipe away the tears. "Leese, shhh. I'm not going to hurt you at all." He told her sincerely. "I wouldn't ever hurt you." He cradle her head as he got them both in a sitting position against the wall. "Please just understand my own emotions. I've had to put up with a lot of shit since I was locked up while making sure that you were alright."

"You spied on me?" Lisa looked up in surprise.

"More like had my bosses keep me informed of how you were doing while I was in there." He gently corrected her as he brushed away a few loose hairs from her face. "I needed to keep you safe from all possible harm."

"I hope that you didn't have anyone killed in the process." She managed to joke while relaxing in his arms.

Jackson shook his head. "No, I didn't have anyone killed." He promised her. "Now that you are all calm, shall we go into the living room and talk?" He suggested as he got up to his feet and held a hand out towards her. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

Lisa laid a trembling hand in his and held on tightly as she got to her feet. She immediately fell forward because of her weak legs, but Jackson caught her and swept her into his arms as easily as if she was only a doll. He stilled when she stared up at him. "What?"

"I was only thinking that at one point I thought you were going to kiss me." Lisa replied, her eyes falling on those lips that she had remembered well of tasting.

"The forbidden fruit" she had nicknamed him at one point when she was going through therapy for what happened to her.

"Then perhaps I shall take a taste for myself." He agreed as he placed her on the edge of the sink and took her face into his hands as she held onto his coat lapels. "I think I'm going to get drunk just off of tasting you, Leese." He whispered before capturing her lips with that same brutal force that she remembered back in the interview room four years ago.

Back at the car, the two bodyguards were eating doughnuts and coffee as they watched the apartment complex.

"So how long do you think we are going to be here for?" The older of the two said as he took a sip of his hot beverage.

"For the whole day and night." Replied the other with a shake of his head. "I brought some movies we can watch on my portable DVD player." He suggested. "It will be good to pass the time." He held up a few in his hands that he took out from his glove compartment.

"Sure, why the hell not? I have a feeling that we may need to stop by Mr. Rippner's house before the night is over anyway." Said his partner as he took another bit of glazed donuts. "Don't want him looking like a ruffled turkey when we have to drive him to see the bosses."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 4: Why? (Part 2)****  
**

* * *

Lisa awoke with a yawn as the annoying sound of her alarm slowly made its way into her addled brain. "Man, what a dream that was." She told herself as she sat up and stretched her arms over her head. "I really hate waking up this early." She complained as she thew back the covers and stood up with another yawn. She glanced over at her digital clock and found that it was around five-thirty-five am. "At least I still have time to eat breakfast." Lisa murmured as she padded into the bathroom to do her business.

She took her time getting ready as usual as her half-asleep mind tried to recall bleary parts of the dream she had last night. Her mind was half foggy and she could't remember much except a heated kiss and a murmured promise of something tangibly sweet.

"This is utterly bullshit." She said to her reflection in the mirror after rinsing her mouth with peppermint mouth wash. "I need a life to live."

"Yeah, and so you shall." A quiet voice spoke from the doorway. Lisa let out a scream as Jackson chose this moment to enter the bathroom, his face sleepy and dressed only in his boxers and pretty much nothing else. "Leese, will you just shut it already?" He begged while grabbing her upper arm with a firm hand. "You will wake up your neighbors."

"What the hell are you doing here, Jackson?" She proceeded to yell as she struggled to get away from him.

Jackson frowned. "You don't remember what happened yesterday?" He asked her softly as his grip tightened just a fraction.

Lisa ceased her struggle to look up at him in confusion. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Jackson's frown deepened before releasing her arm. He placed his hands over his hips and stared hard at her with his blue eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, Leese." He warned her. "I hate it when people play games with me. Hell, you were practically happy that I was standing in the room with you and kissing you breathless until you passed out."

"I passed out?" She cried. Lisa's hands flew to her mouth as he gave her a slow nod.

"Yes, and I was left carrying you to your bed, tucking you in and figuring out what to eat from your very healthy stocked fridge." Jackson smirked and walked away from her laughing. "You should have heard yourself last night while you were asleep. I was nearly laughing my ass of when you kept calling me baby."

"Jack, just shut the hell up!" Lisa yelled with red cheeks. "And get out of my apartment while you are at it!"

All she got in reply was his charming chuckle from the living room. Lisa could feel the way her heart was ready to take a leap out of her chest as she tried to force her mind to recall what took place the previous morning. She tried several times but after two frustrating moments of trying, she let out a growl and just grabbed her purse and heels from the closet before proceeding to the living room where she came to an abrupt stop with a dropped jaw.

Jackson had his back turned towards her and he was completely naked.

Naked as the day he was born naked.

Outside the scars that she could see from the bullets her father had put into his body, Jackson was muscularly toned and well kept.

Lisa's knees were turning to complete jello as she could only helplessly watch his handsome self bend over to grab a pair of black boxers and black dress pants before proceeding to put them swiftly before grabbing his leather belt.

"Enjoying the view, Leese?" He calmly asked her while he buckled his belt on. "I have heard most women in the past make comments about my body then just stand there and drool. She stiffened when he slowly turned around to face her, a small half smirk touching his lips as her eyes trailed down his face, over his chest down to the eight pack further down to...She forced her eyes back up to his face with red cheeks once more.

He was aroused by her staring and she had seen the large bulge in his pants.

"You could at least go into the guest bathroom and get dressed." She snapped weakly while heading into the kitchen to make a hot pot of coffee and see what there was to eat. She heard him laugh softly and she almost hated the way her body and mind reacted to the husky sound of his rich voice.

"Well, I don't have time for it." He told her as he slipped into his shirt. "Do you mind if I leave my clothes in your hamper?" He half joked.

Lisa slammed her fridge shut and turned around with an angry face. Only to stop in mid-sentence when she found herself staring right at his naked chest barely an inch away from her face. Jackson chose this moment to trap her between himself and the fridge, putting both of his arms beside her head. "Do you have a selective memory loss or something, Leese?" He asked her very serious. "Because if I remember correctly, you didn't hurt your brain when you headbutted me four years ago at your dad's house."

Lisa didn't say anything. Instead, she lowered her eyes at his abs and blushed at the sight of the muscle movement underneath the skin._ Man, if looks could kill, so can his body's overall shape._

"Lisa?"

She refocused her mind at the situation at hand and placed her palms over his chest to push him away. "I need to get something to eat before I leave for work, Jack."

"Of course." He acknowledged with a grunt. He backed away from her to allow enough room for her to maneuver further into the kitchen while he finished buttoning up his shirt and fix his jacket. "Mind if I have a quick cup since you are already going to pour yours?" He asked casually. Lisa threw him a glare, but went ahead and grabbed another coffee mug from the top cupboard. "Pour it yourself." She said, sliding it towards him which he caught easily in his hand.

"You know that you can be a little more nice about this." Jackson sighed as he helped himself to the sugar and cream. "I promised you that I would be back, but it seems that you have already forgotten about it within the last twenty-four hours of me being in this nice apartment of yours."

Slamming shut her utensil drawer and grabbing a granola cereal box, she refused to meet his curious gaze. "I already knew that you would eventually leave prison, I just didn't know that you would chose to show up at my doorstep, or _rather_ break-in and enter without calling me first." She snapped. She reached for the soy milk in the fridge, but he had already beaten her to it and it was now sitting on the counter while Jackson poured himself the coffee.

"Always observant, Leese." He replied before taking a long sip. "You know," He told her as he carfully placed his mug back on the counter. "I wasn't supposed to come here first." He stared up at her, pinning those blue eyes upon her till she swore she was going to have a heart attack just staring right at them.

For some odd reason, Lisa felt a feeling of disappointment when he said that she wasn't going to be the first place he visited. _Stop it, Leese. You are just paranoid right now thanks to the face that your would-be killer is standing right in your kitchen, sipping coffee as he owned the place."_

"Oh, really, Jackson?" She replied in a mock sarcasm coated voice. "Have another girlfriend on the side who can't wait to see you?"

_Why must she antagonize me like this all the damn time?_ Jackson told himself in his mind. "No, Leese." He replied flatly. "I don't have another girlfriend. You of all people should know and at least understand from what I told you in the lavatory, that having attachment to certain things creates problems and problems creates shit for people like me who work for-"

"Other people like your bosses." Lisa finished for him with a roll of her eyes. "So _why_ did you come here?"

Jackson watched her pour her milk into her cereal. "I just need to see if you were alright with my own eyes, Leese." He replied softly, surprised by how gentle he sounded to his own ears. Where was the cold, indifference tone that he once had whenever he was around this woman who brought nothing but pain and trouble to him and his bosses? _Oh, yeah._ He kicked himself._ I lost it when I first looked into her eyes and heard her laugh genuinely for the first time at that airport bar over a drink of Bay Sea-Breeze._ He looked over at Lisa who was right now focus on eating her breakfast before rushing to work. _Yup, I was a total lovesick sucker for her at that time and still am four fucken years later._

She took her time eating, not wanting to make herself sick from fast rushing of her meal as she felt the piercing stare of the man not standing five feet away from her. It made her feel almost as if her own apartment wasn't her own anymore. It was like she was...almost feeling perfect with him standing there in her kitchen, drinking coffee while they discussed what the hell he was doing there in the first place!

_As if you didn't know that he wasn't going to show up, Lisa._ She chided herself. _You just don't want to admit to the happy feelings you got when you heard he was free. Hell, you even told him to his face that you'd be waiting for him. What the hell is the matter with you girl? Get a grip on your life!_

"So why didn't you have me killed then while you were in jail? Why even bother to allow the same people that you work for,_" _She said before taking a sip of coffee."Spend whatever amount to watch my every move while you sat in jail planning for the day you were going to come and fuck up my life."

Jackson's eyes flickered for a moment before she saw that tall-tell sign of his jaw ticking whenever he got mad or frustrated with something. "Why didn't you just call me then from time to time to hear me if you were that concern about my welfare?" She put more tactfully and gently so to not awaken the mad beast within him. "It's so simple to pick up the phone and dial my number."

"I didn't want to upset you further and make you more scared of me after all the I said and done to you and that beautiful body of yours." He replied stiffly before turning away to gather up his wallet and gun, which she had just noticed, laid on top of her coffee table.

A strange sensation of thrill ran through her at hearing from his own lips that she was beautiful. Never, ever, even back in high school, had any boy, or man, for that matter, called Lisa beautiful until this blue-eyed killer terrorist came into her life. It made her feel worshiped just by those simple words of gesture and kindness from a being whom she believed still had some shreds of humanity left in himself.

"What the heck are you staring at now, Leese?" He growled, irritated at himself of what he had unexpectedly said. "I swear, it keeps freaking me out every time I catch you." He shook his head.

Lisa quickly adverted her eyes and finished up the last few bits of her cereal before turning around to hastily wash her dish and spoon. "Sorry." She mumbled with her back turned to him. "So are you staying or going?" She asked while drying her hands on a nearby dish towel.

Jackson's hand stop mid-way of locking his gun in place at his side. He found her still standing very still at her sink, staring out at the rising morning sun as it bathed the grey sky with soft hues of pink, orange and yellow. "Only if you want me to, Leese." He found himself saying to her. _What the hell are you doing?_ His mind screamed at him. _She hasn't yet adjusted to you being in her apartment after you just suddenly chose to break in and enter. She still needs time to accept the fact that you are a fee man who is still working for the Organization and killing other people out there._

He could hear the little _tap, tap_ noise of her heels as she nervously moved her foot up and down on the wooden floor. It seemed like forever before she spoke to him again in a calmly controlled voice. "Then just make sure that you lock the door behind you before you leave and don't be late coming back."

Jackson took note that she didn't say the word, "home" in her sentence, but rather just turn around to finish her cup of coffee before going to the bathroom to brush her teeth again. "I don't plan on being late anyway." He said to himself as he finished up getting ready.

Lisa couldn't believe that she was allowing Jackson to stay at her place. "I am so stupid for doing this." She told her reflection in the mirror. "You must just be as sick as he is for allowing your heart to do the work than rather common sense of kicking his ass out the moment you laid eyes on him" Her eyes dwelled for a moment on her lips. They were a little more puffer then usual this morning. She reached up and gently touched them with her fingertips, a memory flashing of her kissing him while was handcuffed to a chair and another of him kissing her while holding her in his arms. Until that moment, they felt bruised and raw from the wildness of her memories of Jackson's lips ravishing hers until she couldn't take anymore of it.

He wanted her just as bad as she wanted him. All of her wildest fantasies of his lips and strong hands making love to her during these past four years, flashed before her mind's eyes until she gave a little cry and covered her mouth tightly, crumbling against the wall as hot tears pricked her eyes.

"Lisa?" Jackson called from the other side of the door. The doorknob turned and he came inside and found her huddled against the wall with her legs up to her chest as she held her hands to her mouth. Fear instantly ran through his mind as he knelt next to her and gently, very gently, laid a hand on one of her bare knees. "Leese? What's the matter?" He asked her, eyes soft with concern as she refused to look up at him. "Please, talk to me."

Lisa shook her head and pushed away his hand. Jackson held them both up to show her that he didn't mean her any harm. "Hey, its alright." He assured her. "I'm not going to hurt you in any way."

Pushing herself up slowly while using the wall for support, Lisa turned to him, her lips trembling as he steadily stared back. "I need some time to think for a bit, Jack." She told him in a cracking voice. "Just give me tonight to think before you come back to see me again."

"Alright." He told her instantly. "I had somethings that I need to take care of anyway tonight. So I'll just be sure to have one of my men just keep an eye out on you while I'm away on business."

Relief flooded her mind as she managed a small smile of gratitude. "Thank you for understanding." She said. Jackson shrugged as he handed her one of his handkerchiefs from his breast pocket.

"Hey, sometimes a woman just needs time to herself." He said. Looking down at his watch, he saw that he had at least an hour and half to go before his big meeting with his bosses at the local cafe two miles from here. "I'd better get going at least." Jackson didn't wait to hear Lisa's small offering of giving him a ride at least as he went to the front door unlocked it. Turning his head back, he found that she was drying up her tears and picking up her purse and keys. "Need an escort to your car?" He offered her with one of his more gentle, but playful smiles.

Lisa shook her head. "No, thanks. I can take care of myself." She firmly told him. Jackson looked her up and down as a building need of wanting to just hold her and and tell her that she was safe. Safe from the outside world. Safe from her fears. Safe from him. Instead, he tightly gripped the handle of the door before he realized that he was going to break it off if he didn't ease off the pressure.

"I guess I'll see you later in the afternoon then, Leese." He said with a shrug before walking out and shutting it firmly behind him.

Lisa let out a tight breath that she didn't realize that she was holding as silence took the place of Jack's voice and deadly presence. She looked down at the couch and found that he had forgotten about his clothes. In her mind, she wanted to burn them so badly, but something held her back as she reached down and picked up his long sleeve casual shirt and held it to her nose, breathing in deep the musky scent of his skin and a erotic smelling cologne that smelled like _Eternity's Aqua_ by Calvin Klein's line of men's cologne.

_"...You continue to play with me like this, remember that once its been sealed, I will forever be apart of your life."_ His words echoed through her mind as she just stood there with her eyes closed as she took another deep inhale of his shirt. "You sealed the deal when you spared my life, Jackson." She said to the quite room before setting the shirt back down on the couch. She squared her shoulders and walked determinedly out the door, making sure to lock it firmly in place before hurrying to her car in the parking lot at the back of the complex, not knowing that Jackson and his bodyguards were watching her leave.

"She really does need to learn that parking in the back leave a woman such as herself, wide open to any possible attacks." Complained bodyguard number 1, as Jackson had mentally nicknamed since they refused to tell him their names. "Why can't she just park in the front where there is more light?" Number 1 continued to complain as he watched her slowly drive out the main gate and onto the street. "I can never understand women's logic behind certain things." He wheezed before taking a sip of his latte.

"Yeah and they can never understand men's logic behind why a man must carry a gun on him while holding a red rose in the other hand." Bodyguard "number 2" sighed as he moved the front mirror to look back at Jackson. "So, how did it go? Unscathed with your balls still attached, I see."

Jackson slowly turned his head from watching Lisa's car disappear from view to the sun glass that were staring at him from the mirror. "Say that one more time." He calmly said with a slow smile. "And you won't be missing your balls after I am done with you."

Bodyguard number 1 hastily got the car running a matter of seconds while he muttered some curse words at his fellow co-worker. "Will you just shut the fuck up and watch what you say around him?" He warned under his breath while Jackson just merely sat back with one leg crossed over the other. "Do you have a fucken death wish or what? You are talking to the manger of this company, Goddammit!"

"What?" Complain the other. "I was just trying to cheer him up and congratulate that fact that he doesn't have another pen in his throat this time around."

Jackson cleared his throat rather noisily as they started to drive forward. Bodyguard number 1 looked up at him through the mirror before shaking his head. "Just shut the fuck up, Terry and we will somehow still manage to keep our jobs while keeping our necks in once piece after being employed to him." He muttered darkly.

"Terry" grunted but kept his mouth shut as he opened up a box of Twinkies and took a bite out one. His co-worker reached over and slammed the lid shut and tossed the box behind his seat as Terry protested loudly at him. "Hey! What the hell is up with that?"

"Go on a diet soon." He comrade barked angrily as Jackson forced himself to smother his amusement behind a couph. "I am sure that keeping to a _strict diet_ while we are in the good hands of here, doesn't mean that we must allow ourselves to become fat."

"Who's the fatter one here of us both?" Cried Terry as he took an angry sip of coffee. "You are making my life an utter hell. I haven't had one of those since I was sixteen and now, you want to deprive me of my childhood memory. Its not fair!"

"Unless you want to deal with the head boss in the department of Health, you better shut up or else I will have no other choice but to report you promptly to _her_."

"OH HELL YOU DON"T!" Terry cried at him, now fully incest and forgetting who was sitting right behind him. That "who" was now having a real hard time keeping back his laughs while these two verbally fought it out in front of him. It was no wonder that his employers chose these two to be his bodyguards. To anyone else, they would just be a pain the neck and useless in serious situations. But if given to him, he would just get hours of utter comedy while they fought like "Tom and Jerry."

Terry glared at his friend, by now, who could not notice that the two have been together for so long that they couldn't be friends. "I won't allow you to do that to me again. It wasn't right that you didn't at least let me finish eating my breakfast." He pouted like a spoiled child.

"Suck for you. Either eat healthy or you are going to straight to her and answering her questions of why the hell you didn't stop eating sugar when you know you have debilities to the boot." Growled the other.

"You would betray me to my own wife?" Terry cried in horror._ " You traitor!" _

"Yeah, yeah, now shut it or else the bosses will see you acting like this and decide to kill me for it." His friend warned as they got nearer to the local cafe. Jackson saw four older gentlemen, all dressed in black suits, calmly sipping coffee as they sat outside at the table of the establishment. They turned their heads as one towards the car he was in and he saw the dead seriousness in their calculating eyes.

"Showtime, children." Jackson purposely chose to half joke as the car came to a stop in a nearby parking spot. "Now make sure that you don't have any crumbs on your face, Terry." He said as he opened the door and got out.

Terry's mouth was open as his friend sighed and reached into his jacket and withdrew a napkin. "You have crumbs on your face." He mocked as he wiped Terry's still hanging jaw like a child. "Now lets get rolling. I just pray that we don't get to hang out them too long for any comfort or else we are going to be three dead men if Mr. Rippner doesn't play it cool and collected like he usually is."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 5: The Business of a Killer****  
**

* * *

Jackson smoothed out his jacket as he approached the group, his eyes alert of his surroundings around him as he smiled very coldly and took an empty seat amide them.

"Good morning, gentlemen." He greeted coolly as a young female blond waitress approached the table with her tablet in hand.

"Hello sir, what can I get you this morning?" She asked him brightly while flashing everyone a smile that spoke she had already been handsomely tipped for the day by his bosses.

"I'll just take a cup of cappuccino, double shot with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top." Jack replied without looking up at her, his jaw tight as several of the older men chuckled. "And can you add a bear claw to that as well?" He added while handing her a hundred dollar bill in the process.

"Sure thing." She replied as she took the tip from him and quickly walked away with a backward glance as she made her way back inside.

Jackson squared his shoulders as he faced them again after four years of solitude in prison. It actually had been a blessing to him since he didn't have to deal with them over deals and jobs, except an occasional visit from one of them to see how he was faring as they allowed him to go through intensive therapy. Yeah, life is always sure to be a total bitch when you are dealing with the top of the top in the Organization.

"So, have you already settled in after yesterday morning, Rippner?" A older man with grey short hair and slightly pale complexion smiled very politely. "I hope you didn't mind us giving you the bodyguards." He added with a nod towards the two said as they came to stand near enough to give them privacy, but not too near where to where they couldn't take down a target within range in case anything was to happen.

"They have their moments and perks." Jackson replied as the waitress came back with his order. She set it down in front of him after telling him to enjoy and hope that his day would be good before walking away. Jackson slowly picked up the steaming hot cup and blew at the top. "What happened? They didn't satisfy requirements so you gave them to me?"

One of them smirked and pushed forth a file that he had been thrumming his fingers on. "This is the new plans that we have." He said. "I better expect a more...cleaner result then last time."

Jackson's eyes harden, but he merely shrugged as he took the folder and read the contents in silence before looking up over at his bosses with an raised eyebrow. "You want me to try and finish up the job with the Keef's, but sparing the children as bargaining chips? Since when did any of you care about that last part?"

"Steven here," Spoke a smaller man, but with an authoritative air as he waved in the direction of the person who handed Jackson his folder. "Is actually related to the Keef's as a distance cousin. When he heard about the children being present at the time of the foiled assassination, he gave me and our client hell about their presence to the point we had to come up with a new plan that didn't involve them at the same time."

"Peachy." Jackson said as he started to eat his pastry.

"Which brings us to the current problem." Steven spoke as his colleges murmured amide themselves before quieting down when he pinned them all with a cold stare. "What is your situation with your former target? Last I heard, she was still trying to pick up the pieces after all the shit she caused."

He swallowed down the rest of his drink before answering that question in a voice that broke no playing around or jokes. "Yes, she may have ruined our plans but I don't intend of allowing that to happen a second time around."

"So what are you going to do?" They prompted him. "She's practically been running us in the ground thanks to your order of having us watch over her for four years. What use is she to us?"

There were many scenarios going through his mind as Jackson carefully chose his answer with care. They may have followed his orders when he asked them to keep an eye on her, thinking that she was still a use to them until one of them found out his obsession with her on the personal level. Not that anyone was oblivious to it. They saw his look when he would ask about her safety and well being, but it would only make him weak if he didn't keep his mind in the game at hand.

"She isn't a part of any of this." He finally said in a cold voice that could break ice and glass. "And I intend of keeping it that way while I'm on assignment."

"But she doesn't know the full truth about her father being involved, Rippner."

He swore his teeth gashed together as he grounded them in mix agitation and anger. "That is the reason I hope that she does't find out any time soon about his "slight" involvement with the Keef case. As much as I still hate him for shooting me and nearly kill me, his daughter is the only reason why he is still breathing this very second."

"You didn't answer the question on what you are planning on doing with the girl."

He fixed them all with a glare. "You got to be kidding if you are asking me to kill her." He snapped, keeping his voice as low as possible as the other patrons around them wouldn't overhear him.

"We don't have interests of having her removed from the picture, Rippner." Steven spoke up, raising his hand when one of the other's started to sputter angrily. "We just are worried that she is an...unwanted injury to what we are trying to do in this Organization. Plus, I hope that you remember that whatever you do, she's always gong to be a walking target to those who are still very much upset about your botched operation. Something that I am sure you had thought of while you went to serve your time in federal prison."

"I can well assure you that she won't be much of a problem since I plan of leaving her out of this assignment." Jackson replied very coldly. His blue eyes held promise of revenge should anyone try to lay a finger upon his Leese. He would make sure that their death would be a very painful, slow, agonizing death that they wouldn't even want to go to heaven once he was done with them."

His bosses stared at one another as they tried to think over what was said so far. If they allowed Jackson to involve himself with the woman who had almost gotten their very best manager killed, she would be his ultimate weakness and other's would sure to catch on sooner or later. But on the other hand, if they even tried to stop his interactions with her, then it would be like trying to stop a full speeding train with only a gun. Jackson was the best of the best and they couldn't' afford to allow his feelings get in the way of his job. Not when they had a second chance of taking Keef down this time.

"So what are you going to do if she starts to become a liability to us and to you?" The most older of the gentlemen spoke up softly. "Jack, we have known you for a very long time." He said as he leaned forward a little to allow his words to sink into the other man's head. "Its never like you to be this far into your targets when its better to just let them go so that they don't get into the crossfire that we have created."

"She left me no choice when she looked at me in that airport bar and practically went up to me and talked as if I was a normal guy." Jackson said with downcast eyes at his empty plate. "Lisa actually brought out the good side of me for once and I actually liked the feeling until things went completely out of the shits on the plane and afterwards."

"Then I believe that this conversation is over today, Rippner." Steven said as he and everyone else stood up. "Just make sure that she doesn't get you killed by either someone else or her hand for that matter." He smirked as his bodyguards pulled up in his car. "You are the best and most valuable asset that this company has, Jackson." He continued while Jackson just continued to sit there in silence. "Don't fuck up or else you know what we will do to her."

He waited until everyone was completely done when he finally relaxed and got up with the folder in hand. His two bodyguards were already waiting for him in the car as he got in the backseat.

"So, that went rather well." Remarked Terry as he inspected his nails. "No shots fired this time. Must be a good sign from above."

"Will you just_ please_ shut the hell up?" His partner groaned as he started up the car. "I'm already starting to get fed up with your sick jokes."

Jackson tossed the folder in a briefcase that he found next to him and snapped it shut as they pulled out of the driveway.

"So where to, sir?"

He rubbed his eyes wearily with his hands, fighting off the urge to yawn in front of his bodyguards as he stared out of the window.

"Just take me to my condo and let's call it a day, gentlemen." He replied with a tired sigh. "I have a headache and I need some rest before I can work out the plans on my job."

"Yes, sir."

At the Lux hotel, Lisa's brain was fuddled with so many reservations, planning, meetings with both clients and her fellow employees that she almost wished that Jackson would just show up at her door later and let her vent her feelings. Being the CEO of the business was very tough business, but someone other then Cynthia had to do the work or else nothing was going to get done.

Lisa looked down at her watch and found that it was only ten-forty am. "I am never going to get through this." She groaned at herself in the women's bathroom. Only less than thirty-five hours since Jackson re-entered her life and already, it was turned upside down. She rinced her face with cold, cold water and patted it dry before hurrying back out into the main lobby where she was met by one of her co-workers.

"Miss. Reisert!"

She forced a calm fake smile as she found it was Emily, her head secretary. "Oh, hello Emily." She said brightly. "What's up?"

Emily let out a small laugh as she patted her on the arm. "There are some flowers for you in your office, Reisert." She informed her before hurrying off to finish up some last minute paperwork.

"Flowers? For me?" Lisa told herself as she made her way up to her office on the third floor. She could feel her heart pounding as she entered the small office and found a dozen red roses neatly tied together with a pink bow and a small velvet box lying next to it on her desk. Lisa closed the door behind her and cautiously approched her desk. Her eyes found a small card amide the roses which she daintily pick up and opened to read the contents within with wide eyes.

It read:_  
_

_"Dear Leese, _

_I hope that these will help cheer you up after what I put you through these past four years._

_-Jack._

_P.S. If you like, you can join me for dinner at your hotel tomorrow night. Hope to see you there."_

Lisa had a urge to almost not open the box, but her curious side got the best of her. She picked up the small box and opened it slowly, only to gasp in total shock when she found that it contained two emerald stud earrings with small diamonds surrounding it. Lisa hurried to the window where the sun was pouring into her office and turned them this way and that to make sure what she was seeing was real.

Yup. Real emeralds and diamonds.

"Holy shit, Jackson Rippner." Lisa finally said after she managed to recover her breath. Her fingers were shaking and her mind didn't even know how to respond to the innocent gift of flowers and an expensive pair of earrings. "What the hell are you planning on doing?" She said out loud as she gazed at the busy mall strip below. Lisa looked down at the earrings, biting her bottom lip as she tried to interpret his motives behind giving her such lavish gifts.

Did he feel guilty enough to try and perhaps make it up to her through a romantic move or did he have something more sinister going behind it all?

_Lisa, if he did, he would have done all of the killing last night while you were passed out yesterday._ Her reasonable side said.

_No! he can't be trusted. He tried to kill you at one point when you fought him off._ Her fearful side screamed back.

"I don't know what you are up to, Jack." Lisa mumbled to herself as she slipped the box into her purse and went it search of a vase to hold the red flowers. "But I intend of finding out one way or another."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 6: Dinner with Jack****  
**

* * *

The following evening, Lisa was having total trouble with finding a perfect dress to go with the emerald earrings. Nothing seemed to work at all for her and she didn't want to be late when it came down to Jack.

Six dresses and she still didn't' find the right one yet and it was already was six o'clock in the evening.

"Shit." She swore as she hurried through her closet. After another six frustrating moments, she settles for an all black velvet dress with a side slit on the side with silver heels to go with it. Lisa wasn't too keen about her appearance before, because she was well aware that she was an attractive woman. She applied a little blush, clear cherry flavored lip gloss, some black eyeliner and mascara and called it a day before picking out a small evening bag and coat to keep her warm.

The previous night was hell for her after she had gotten home from work late. A late meal, some voice messages from her dad, a headache over the date with Jack and wondering what it would be like to have a man such as him sleep with her just for one night.

Totally not the typical night for Lisa Reisert, former manager of Lux Hotel in Miami, Florida.

After making sure that her curled hair was in place and spaying on some soft smelling perfume on her neck, Lisa hurried out of her apartment to her car, her body feeling the adrenaline of excitement coursing thorough her body as she drove to her hotel where Jack was waiting for her.

I wonder what he has planned for the night? She thought as she came to a red light. Jack didn't seem like the person to go out of his way for women like her. But sadly, she was no longer labeled average thanks to him. She was a mark upon his soul that would never go away as he was to her. Two people who at one point, tried to kill each other to only end up being...

Being what? Friends?

No, that wasn't correct and she knew that in her heart of hearts. Jack had more than captured her heart on that fateful day while waiting to board the Red Eye flight out of Dallas. He had captured her scarred soul and made her into what she was today.

A fighter with a backbone.

As she neared the Lux Luxury hotel, Lisa couldn't help but feel a little scared about this public meeting with Jack. He promised to not hurt her, but did he promise to not hurt her emotionally after this was all over.

If it was ever over between the two of them.

"Get a grip of yourself, Lisa." She told herself as she drove into the front of the hotel and waited for one of the hotel chauffeurs to come out and park her car. "This is just a simple dinner that he asked you out on. Nothing more, nothing less."

One of the chauffeurs eventually did come out, exclaiming a warm welcome and surprise to see his CEO arriving in such a fashion. "On a date, Miss. Reinsert?" He asked as he accepted the keys from her. "Must be a lucky guy."

"Yup," She smiled while gathering her coat and purse. "He is one hell of a luck man."

She squared her shoulders and headed into the hotel, smiling and greeting the many patrons who instantly recognize her face and warm personality. Eventually after a few minutes of checking up with Cynthia to make sure that things were running smoothly, Lisa made her way towards the Italian gourmet restaurant with butterflies swirling around at high speeds.

She didn't ask for any of this.

Not the flowers, earrings or break-ins.

All she wanted deep down, all she wanted to find the humanity that she saw in Jack's eyes in those few times he had lost his cold mask.

_I only want you to love me with your heart, Jack._ She said in her mind as she entered and quickly found Jackson leaning over a small glass at the bar. He had his back to her when she slowly approached the bar and stood quietly, figuring out what to say.

"Is that seat taken?" Lisa finally said to him. Jackson turned his head and stared.

She was wearing the earrings he had brought and damn...did she look so sexy in that tight black dress. "Yeah, sure thing." He nodded after clearing his throat several times. "All yours." He added lamely as she sat down. "You look really..." He paused for a moment to look her up and down with a feeling of male approval. "Beautiful."

Lisa laughed softly as the bartender approached them. "I will have a small glass of brandy over rocks." She told before turning back to Jackson. It was only then that her mind finally registered that he has changed his business suites for a more relaxed, casual feel with dark blue jeans, a black turtle neck and over jacket to match. "So why did you ask me out here of all places?" She asked him. Better to get the pressing question out of the way before it ruined the already relaxed mood between them.

Jackson laughed very softly as he took a sip. "I just hated to see you all coped up in that little apartment all the time." He replied while leaning back in his chair. His blue eyes stared straight at hers. "You need to get out of the house more, Leese. You are all work not and very little fun."

Lisa noticed the slight emphasis on the word fun and had to turn her eyes away from his. With red cheeks, she accepted the brandy and took a long sip of it before putting it back down on the counter a little bit two forcefully then intended. "I have to make my living, Jack."

"It doesn't mean that you don't go out at least once in a while." He countered softly. He reached out a hand towards her. "Why don't we find a more private booth where we can order our dinner and perhaps talk?" He suggested with an raised eyebrow. Lisa grabbed her drink as she placed her hand into her own.

What the hell was wrong with her?

Jackson led her down to a more secluded part of the restaurant where it was partitioned off by some screens to give a little more privacy to people's conversation. Lisa scooted along the booth towards the middle as he took his spot next to her. "Ah, this is more like it." He commented as a waitress came over and placed two menus on the table before walking away. "Privacy is a little gift that people like me cherish once in a while."

"I bet." Lisa said under her breath. If Jackson heard her, he chose to not reply as he looked over the menu.

"So what do you like to eat from here?" He asked casually. "I heard that the restaurant is well known for it's spaghetti and meatballs."

Lisa quickly opened her menu. "Yeah, I mostly go for that." She said with a small laugh. "I sometimes order their ravioli four cheese soup from time to time. That's my favorite."

"Then why don't you order that while I get my spaghetti. It feels good to eat normal food for once after being in prison diet for four years."

Their waitress came back and smiled at Lisa. "So what will you have, Miss. Reisert?"

"Oh, the usual." She replied while handing her. "And make sure you add a bread basket with that as well." She added.

"Ok, one of the usual and a bread basket. And what will you order, sir?" The waitress turned to Jackson.

"I'll take the spaghetti with Italian meatballs."

"Ok, I'll be back soon with your orders." She said with a smile. Lisa watched her walk away before jumping when she felt something warm touch her bare shoulder.

"Leese?" Jack asked her softly. "Thank you."

"For what?" She replied in confusion as his hand continued to rest on her shoulder, goosebumps appearing where he was caressing her skin in small circles.

"For allowing me the pleasure of taking you out and accepting my small gift." He smiled slightly. She saw his blue eyes grow warm as he turned his gaze to stare at the small candle on the table. "I just wanted to feel normal for a while." He looked back at her, stealing her breath away for a second as she saw a storm brew within them. "I wanted you to feel normal again, somehow, someway. I"m not always the monster that you once saw before the first day we met. I was blinded by anger and feeling of despair if I didn't finish what my clients wanted. And I certainly didn't want to hurt you."

Lisa slowly reached up and placed her hand over his for a moment. "Shh, you don' have to say anymore apologies." She shook her head at him. "I am sure that four years have certainly changed your opinion of me."

Jackson let out a small, warm laugh as he tightly squeezed her shoulder for a moment before letting go. "Just the fact that I am sure you ran out of hockey sticks, pens and high heeled shoes."He half-joked.

"Hockey sticks and pens, yes. But high heels, no." Lisa couldn't help but feel safe with Jack as they talked further about what had happened to the both within the last four years. He of course had served time, but still kept his connections with his bosses open in communication while she stepped down from being manager of the Lux hotel to CEO and just overseeing the whole operation as her business partners talked about perhaps expanding the hotel in other states or even foreign countries.

Their waitress came back with their food, biding them to enjoy before departing once more, leaving Lisa and Jack alone to enjoy their dinner.

"You never told me that you had two people with you." Lisa said at one point of the meal with a slight nod towards the doorway where she saw two men dressed in all black suites, seemly arguing over their meal of salad and bread sticks. "Are they with you?"

"Very observant as always." Jackson congratulated her before taking the final bit of his spaghetti.

"They have been pinning me with stares this whole time, Jack." She pointed out as she took a sip of red wine. "And you of course, only more darker and sinister." She half dropped her voice an octave, much to his utter amusement.

"Yeah, they are my bodyguards." He admitted after pinning them with a cold glare that caused once of them to choke on his drink. "I told them to not be so obvious about their presence since I can't go anywhere except my home without them."

"Don't be so harsh on them then if that's the case." Lisa begged as their waitress came back to take their empty dishes and leave their dinner check.

"I'll pay, Leese." Jackson told her as she started for her purse. Lisa protested, but he firmly shook his head at her. "No, let me pay since I was the one who asked your out tonight. Perhaps if we go on a movie date in the future, I'll let you split the bill then."

Lisa noted how he implemented future dates for them. So Jackson really doesn't want to let go of her? "Sure." Was all she said as she watched him place a hundred dollar bill in the checkbook. She looked up at the table where his bodyguards were doing the same thing, only that they were stuck in a heated argument still.

"Are they always like that?" She asked Jackson as he helped her put on her coat and step out from the booth.

"Depends on the topic that they are talking about. If I am to guess correctly, they are arguing about how come they get salad and bread sticks while I get the good stuff." He half-laughed.

"Oh." She said. "I suppose that does make both life with them funny and horrible."

The two bodyguards looked over at Jackson and made several signals at him. Jackson hesitated. It wasn't his plan to go back to the apartment with Lisa tonight, but he didn't really feel ready to go back to his empty condo for another night. He looked down at Lisa. "Do you mind if I crash it at your place for the night?" He innocently asked.

"Sure, just as long as you remember to put the toilet seat down on your way out of the bathroom." She told him as they started to exist the restaurant.

"I didn't." He defended himself as they passed the two bodyguards by. He gave them a slight shake of his head before continuing to walk away beside Lisa. They of course followed the couple a few feet behind to the front of the hotel where her car was waiting for her before heading off to their own. Jackson gently pushed her towards the front passenger door. "I'll drive." He told her as he held open the door for her.

Lisa stepped inside and watched him take the keys from the chauffeur before getting into the driver's seat and buckle his seat belt. "Do you want some extra blankets?" She asked him to help lull the silence in the car. "It get's a little cold from time to time."

"Sure, if you have one." He said as he drove forward. "And an extra pillow or two." He added. "I don't sleep well with a single."

Lisa nodded as she sat back, full and relaxed. It had been a good night and a good time with him after being nervous before she arrived. "Oh, and thank you for the earrings." She remembered her manners.

Jackson grunted and shrugged slightly. "Its just a little something nice that I saw the day I got out." He replied. "I'm just happy that you wore them tonight. They make your eye color stand out."

Lisa allowed the warm feeling in her chest flow throughout her body as she secretly smiled under the cover of the darkness in the car. Her father and family had always told her that she was a very beautiful woman, but never in such as a way as Jack's compliments that made her feel like a true woman.

"Thank you." She whispered as a feeling of sleepiness began to crawl over her senses. She just needed to close her eyes a little bit and soon she would be home, safe in her bed while he watched over her.

Jackson took of his jacket with one arm and placed it over her sleeping form before turning his attention back to the road. So far, not pens or hockey sticks, but a lot of opening up to each other. He could only pray that it continued one like this before she got word about his plans of finishing off Keef.

Except just one_ tiny_ detail.

They made sure that he wasn't going to be staying at the Lux hotel this time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 7: WTF Just happened?****  
**

* * *

The sun bathed Lisa's face with its soft rays, gently waking her up from a refreshing good night's rest. "Mmmm, I feel rather good today." She mumbled as she slowly stretched her arms above her head while turning onto her back. Suddenly her eyes flew open as she remembered the events of the previous night. Lisa sat up as a faint sound of whistling to a smooth jazz station played in the background.

"Well boss, if letting us in to eat breakfast is one thing," She hears a male voice speak on injured tones from somewhere in her living room. "Can I at least learn how to cook with you?"

"Terry, shut up." Another male gruff voice spoke. "You are just going to get fatter and fatter until the Organization wouldn't' even know what to do with you."

"Yeah, looks who's talking." Terry said mockingly.

"Both you guys, just please keep your voices down before she wakes up." Jackson could be heard scolding them as several noises of utensil moving ensued. "Now where does she put her egg beater?"

"In the main drawer right there to your left, sir." Terry helped him. "When is she going to wake up? Its already ten o'clock."

Sure enough as Lisa took a look at her digital clock it was ten in the morning and she had three men cooking in her apartment without her consent. Lisa let out a little giggle as she imagined Jack working at the stove in nothing but an apron to cover up his front while she drooled over his firm buttocks that she recalled being seared into her mind from the early morning before.

She felt bad that she slept in, but it was time to wake up and enjoy the new days. Lisa threw back her covers and found that she only had on her lacy bra and panties that she had worn the night before. Jack must have removed her dress and shoes before tucking her in bed. Her cheeks flamed as the possibility of his eyes turning that deep blue whenever he was excited or aroused at a certain something.

That certain something being her.

"Its just breakfast and I'm sure he's a good cook." She told herself as she got up and went in search for her long black t shirt and grey sweatpants. Once she had removed her undergarments for a more comfortable outfit, she quickly brushed her teeth and combed out her hair before opening up her bedroom door to find that her place smelled like homemade pancakes, eggs, bacon and coffee.

The two bodyguards that she saw the night before were sitting very casually on her leather couch, watching college football as she entered the room, clearing her throat loudly with a polity smile. "Good morning."

The older one dropped the remote as he had been shot and stood up, pulling his buddy alone as she walked further in to find Jack putting down a platter of pancakes. He looked up and nearly dropped it at the wonderful sight of seeing Leese dresses so relaxed in nothing other than a t shirt and sweats.

"Um, Good morning." He managed to say in a smooth voice while he saw his bodyguards furiously whispering to one another. "I hope you didn't mind that I, uh, had, you know." He waved one hand dismissively in the air.

Lisa felt like giggling at the way he seemed to turn suddenly shy right before her very eyes. "Its alright. And you men may continue to watch TV if you like." She turned to them with another smile that turned them completely speechless. "I'm sure sitting in a car all night must have given you the cramps and cold."

"Uh-huh." The younger one with brown hair replied while jerking a thumb at his older partner. "I had to use the bathroom and told him I'd just simply ask Ja-, I mean, Mr. Rippner here to let me in."

"Its fine with me as long as you put the seat down and wash your hands." She said while walking to the laden table and sat down. "It looks good, Jack." She complimented him as he place her coffee mug before her. "Aren't they going to eat too?"

Jackson shrugged. "If they are hungry enough, sure why the hell not?" He replied while getting the last of the eggs onto a plate. "If you two are hungry, may as well take it while its still hot."

"Yes, sir we will!" Terry said with full enthusiasm as he took a seat further down the table. Lisa gave him a small smile before sipping her coffee. It tasted just right and just the way she liked it.

"So what are you up today, Jack?" She asked very casually while taking a small bit of a strip of bacon. "Work?"

Jackson wished she didn't even say that word, but he nodded anyway as he came to sit down beside his bodyguards. "Yeah, there is a lot to do." He replied while helping himself to a plate, but not before passing one to her and them as well.

"Peachy." She used his favorite word while heaping her plate up with all the yummy food. Jackson smiled to himself. She knew him all too well.

"So what are your guys names since I'll be seeing you often."

"I'm Terry, he's Romeo." Terry spoke up as he took a hasty sip of his coffee as Romeo glared at him. "What? She asked our names."

"You know that I don't like people knowing my name." Romeo said through clinched teeth before suddenly getting up from the table and storming out of the apartment.

Jackson sighed deeply but shrugged his shoulders when Terry looked at him. "Seems that he is the more moodier of the two of you."

Lisa frowned and tried to cheer Terry up with a warm smile. "I'm sure that he will get over it and you guy will be friends later."

They finished their meal in silence. Lisa wanted to help Jack at least clean up the dirty dishes, but he refused, telling her to just relax while he had Terry and Romeo do them.

"Romeo!" He yelled out the front door. "Come make yourself useful in the kitchen!"

The bodyguard slowly came back inside with a slight frown on his face as he handed his cellphone to Jackson. "Its for you." Was all he said before heading into the kitchen where Terry gave him a slight look.

"Jackson."

"We have a problem, Rippner." Steven spoke on the other end. "One of our clients have pinpointed Miss. Reisert's home address and is planning on killing her." He informed him grimly. "So if you want to keep her alive, you have less than an hour to pack her things and get her to your safe house. I'll be sure to let you know what to do next."

"But-" Jackson started to say but it was too late. Steven hung up on him.

"Jack?" Lisa's small voice broke through his thoughts. "Is everything alright?"

"No." He said in a cold voice as he turned around to face her, face completely wiped free of that warmth she had seen a few minutes ago. "Someone wants you dead and I have to get you out of here as soon as possible before they get here."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 8: Running away with a killer. (Oh, and did I mention his ever bickering crones as well?)****  
**

* * *

Her head spinned out of control as a roaring noise filled her ears to the point she didn't hear the concern voices around her call out in alarm.

"Lisa!" Jackson cried as he ran forward and caught her fainting form just in time before she hit the floor. "Terry, get a wet cloth from the sink!" He ordered as a feeling of panic filled his chest.

Terry rushed to do as he said, nearly tripping over himself as he slid into the kitchen. Wetting a towel, he hurried back and placed it over her forehead. "Miss. Reisert?" He called to her. "Can you hear us?"

Lisa let out a shallow breath as nausea hit her like a title wave.

It could be happening again.

It took her four years to try and rebuild everything that she lost or was damaged by Jack's schemes. Why would anyone want her to be dead after four years?

Jackson seemed to sense her terrified question because he answered it immediately. "It's because of the foil assassination of the Keef family. Whoever I was doing the job for at that time, has waited four years for me to get out to try and make his or her move against you."

Lisa gagged as the nausea got worse for moment. "Easy, Leese." He cautioned as she struggled to get up to her feet. "Just take deep breaths while I figure out a plan."

A plan.

Jackson knew every scenario that was out there to hatched a plan right there and then. But the only thing that he didn't know this time is that she was involved on a personal level.

"Jack, you need to leave me." She said weakly. "You can't protect me like this."

He let out a harsh smirk. "And let them kill you while I don't get the fun?"

A shiver ran down her spin at his icy words. Jackson instantly shook his head again at her as he helped her to her feet and pushed her towards the bedroom with Terry following behind. "You have only ten minutes to pack one luggage, Leese." He told her as she shoved open her bedroom door. He let go of her arm and closed her blinds shut, drawing out his gun as he went back out the bedroom door. "Terry, help her pack." He nodded towards her pale face. "Burn her ID cards and anything else that might be important in the bathroom sink."

"Yes, sir." Terry replied as Romeo grimly entered. "Hey keep an eye out on the windows." He pointed a finger at one of them.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Lisa said faintly while blindly grabbing some sweaters, shirts, and other personal items from various drawers. "I just wanted a normal life again. I don't want to keep running away." She broke down crying midway of shoving them into a luggage.

The bodyguards both exchanged helpless looks before Romeo, being the older of the two, walked up to her and very gently patted her on the back while giving her a tight hug. "Its going to be alright. You are in the best of hands." He whispered in her ear. "Now lets just get this done and over with before the trouble arrives at your doorstep."

Lisa tearfully nodded her head as they continued to quickly pack up only essentials things. She did pack the two pictures of her family and the large box of jewelry that she refused to part with since they were family heirlooms given to her after her grandmother had passed away.

She was zippering up her luggage up when Jackson came in to check on their progress. "Do you have a safe in this room?" He asked her directly. She gave him a small nod. "Then open it and let me see what we can do."

She showed him the small safe case that was hidden in the closet wall. Jackson watched her spin the combination before gently pushing her aside to look at the contents within. All there was inside was a loaded gun. He gave her an raised eyebrow when he held it up at her face.

"What?" She said. "A woman has to defend herself against intrusion."

"But did you at least practice your shots after the last time?"

Lisa colored. "No, I kinda don't like guns but my dad insisted that i keep one on me at all times."

Terry smirked. "A lot of good it does you if its in the safe and you have less than six second to spin those tiny dials and unlock the safety on it." He told her as Jackson un-clipped the safety latch and handed it to him. "I"ll teach you how to shoot properly when we have the chance."

Jack took out her social security card and handed it to Romeo. "Burn this with her ID cards." He ordered without looking at her face. "Give him your work card as well. You won't be needing it anytime soon."

"Where is it?" Romeo asked her.

She pointed at her purse. "In my wallet."

Everything was crumbling rapidly around her with every second that passed by. Why couldn't he had just left her alone? Why did everyone want to kill her?

"Burn her phone book and appointment book as well." Jackson said as he tossed them at Romeo. "I"ll just pack whats left in here and get going as soon as you are done."

He gently took a hold of her arm while grabbing the waiting luggage. "Time to go."

"Wait, Jackson!" She cried. "I need to get something."

"Leese, we don't have time." He complained as his mind ran into overdrive. "If we don't leave once Romeo is done discarding your information, we will be four dead people."

"What is it that you need, Miss. Reisert?" Terry asked quietly from behind. He hated to see the fear and shock on her face and eyes. If there was anything else she needed to bring with her, he was sure that it was something that would help keep her together for the next several hours.

"I just want my teddy bear on the bed." She said as small tears began to gather in her eyes. "I have had it since I was a child."

Terry looked up at Jackson for permission before the other man silently nodded before pulling her along. Romeo let out a sigh as he flushed the burned contents down the toilet. It was a shame that her life was being turned upside down, but someone had to make sure that she was still breathing. Terry hurried by with a blond teddy bear in hand. "Are you ready to turn this place upside down?"

"Like good old times." Romeo replied as he followed him out into the living room and started to trash things around on purpose to make it appear as if it was a break in.

Lisa heard the commotion from down the hallway and tried to turn back, but Jack firmly pushed her towards the elevator with a growl. "Never mind them. It will baffle the assassins who are after you and give us enough time to get away. Just keep moving if you want to live to see your father's face another day."

Once he had her safely secured in his car, Jackson tossed the luggage in the trunk before getting in beside her. He pulled out his gun while he kept a sharp look out for any assailants. "If anything happens, Leese." He whispered to her while handing her his knife from his pocket. "Don't hesitate to strike first."

Lisa slowly took the large knife from his hand into her trembling hands. Jackson forced her chin up so he could allow his cold eyes to penetrate her foggy brain. "Its going to be alright as long as you follow my every move and order from hear on out. No calling your father unless I tell you to. No one. Not even Cynthia. No one except me and my bodyguards, can be trusted with your life. From now on, you are no longer Lisa Reisert, CEO of Lux Hotel."

"You will need to change her hair at least if you are going to do something like that." Romeo said as he and Terry suddenly appeared and got in. "She's way too attractive for her own good." He cracked a smile at her through the mirror.

Despite her terror, Lisa smile back before Jackson secured her seat belt and ordered them to head to his safe house using only the back roads. "Its a good thing that these windows are well tinted." Jackson commented as they started to drive off. "I didn't know that my bosses were thinking ahead of time."

Terry remembered the small item in his hand and turned around slightly to hand the teddy bear to her. "Is this what you were wanting?"

Lisa accepted it from him with a small thank you before retreating to the furthest corner of the car seat would allow, pushing herself down as Jackson kept his eyes on the window beside him.

_"Trust no one."_

_But I can trust Jackson with my life._ She said in her mind. _But what about dad and sis? Is it even possible that they would betray me?_

She held her teddy bear against her chest, breathing in its familiar scent to comfort herself as she tried to not think about the people or person who wanted her dead.

_Jack, please protect me from the world. You don't know how scared I am, deep down. Only you can help me if you allow me to help you._ She eventually fell asleep, not knowing that everyone was actually scared to death of what was coming after them. Steven didn't even know which client it was that wanted her dead. All they knew right now, was that they had to get her to safety, forge documents and her identity while figuring out a plan b.

It was some deep, deep shit that was going to be very hard to clean off.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 9: Breaking Barriers ****  
**

* * *

"I'll carry her inside." Jackson said as they got out of the car behind his safe house that was situated several miles away from where her apartment stood. "Just secure the perimeter of the place and then head inside when you are finished."

"Yes, sir."

He didn't wait for them to unlock the back door as he carried Lisa in his arms. Instead, when he approached the security pad, he merely allowed the eye scanner do the work for him before a faint_ click_ could be heard of the door being unlocked from within before pushing open the door with his foot as he slowly entered the spacious condo.

Lisa moaned a little while he walked up the stairs to the third floor where his bedroom was located. "Jackson." She whimpered softly as she buried her face further into his chest, seeking more warmth and comfort from his familiar scent in her sleep.

"Shh, Leese." Jackson whispered in her ear as he very carefully placed her upon his bed after pulling back the covers. "You are safe now. Just sleep." He watched her for a few minutes as his inner emotions swirled almost out of his control. He hated to see her all broken down and alone without anyone to turn to for help. He remembered at one point of being in prison for only five months, the feeling that she felt when he wasn't allowed to talk to anyone other than his cell mate and his bosses.

Looking down at the innocent face before him, something akin to almost possessiveness rose in his breast to the point he swore to kill anyone who dared to lay a finger upon a single hair on her head.

"Um, sir?" Terry interrupted with a slight cough. He held up her luggage when Jackson turned his head slightly to look at him. "Where do you want this?"

Jackson waved a tired hand at the foot of the bed. "There." He said as he started to shrug out of his blazer. "Is everything in place?"

"Yeah, we secured the whole place and didn't see anyone of interest lingering around." Terry replied as he stood by the doorway after placing the luggage where Jackson indicated. "Anything else?" He asked helpfully.

"No, that is all for now." Jackson replied as he stood by one of the bedroom windows and stared out at the sky. "Just let her rest."

"Ok then." Terry slowly closed the door behind him and headed downstairs where Romeo was popping open a cold beer. "Can you toss me one?" He asked while leaning himself against the kitchen counter. "I have an headache again."

"You always have one." Romeo replied tersely as he reached into the fridge for one and expertly tossed the bottle at his friend. "Are you sure you will be able to handle this job?"

"Since when does a little headache stop me from doing my job?" Terry shot at him as he worked the cap off with his pocket knife. "I just get them once in a while."

Romeo didn't say anything as he stared intently at the younger man. It had been five weeks since he last went to the head surgeon to inquire about the frequent headaches his friend had been experiencing within the last several months. He was really worried deep down, but it wasn't his place to force Terry to leave the Organization. Romeo sighed as he looked down at his bottle. "We will get the files ready for Mr. Rippner later on tonight." He said to change the topic. "Just get some rest while I check in on him and the girl."

He made his way upstairs and found Jackson emerging from the room. "How is she doing?"

"She's sleeping soundly for now." Jackson sighed as he motioned for him to follow him to his main office on the second floor. "If she wakes up later, try to have Terry give her some chicken broth and rice to pad her stomach. I'm sure she won't feel like eating after what happened, but I won't allow her to lose her strength when she will be needing it more later." He opened his office door. Romeo followed him inside and shut it behind them to give them privacy.

Jackson went over to his side bar and poured himself a glass of hard Scotch in silence. He took a long drank as he stared at the white walls, feeling a strange sensation as he thought about Lisa's presence being here in this hideout. He shook his head and finished his drink. Tossing his cup aside, he went to his computer and snapped it open. "Did you turn on the survalliance cameras?" He asked while he waited for his computer to boot up.

Romeo took the liberty to produce a small USB from his pocket and placed it on the desk next to Jackson. "This will allow you to have all access to them from anywhere that holds a signal. You can check it out yourself."

Jackson picked it up and plugged it into the USB port of his computer. After setting the security password, he clicked on all the live video footage around the house, lingering on the image of her sleeping form before giving his bodyguard a rare approving smile. "Good work. Now all we need to do is figure out how we are going to hid Miss. Reisert in plain sight."

"I wouldn't have us stay here for long." Romeo suggested firmly." It's not safe for you either since they will try to find you're whereabouts first after seeing that she's not in her apartment. They're not going to stay fooled for long once they figure she's with you. Perhaps you should find a safer place that's perhaps out of the country."

Jackson shook his head at the idea. "She hates to travel on planes now. She'd put up a fight is I told her that."

"What about telling her that Canada is a good place? Me and Terry have good personal connections with some trusted people that we can talk to."

Jackson laced his fingers togather as he stared at Lisa's sleeping form on the screen in front of him. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to flee to Canada but he still had to deal with Keef. "I'll think about it for now." He said thoughtfuly. "See what you can do about forged documents for her and I'll take care of the rest"

Romeo nodded before quietly leaving Jackson to himself. There was too much to do but so little time before her killer got wind of her whereabouts.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 10:Running into Danger and Love (while trying to stay alive in one piece)**

* * *

Jackson was by the bedside when Lisa later woke up with a sharp gasp. She looked around the unfamiliar room until her frighten gaze fell on his tired face beside her.**  
**

"Glad to see that you are awake now." He said gravely as a small knock sounded on the door behind him. "Come in." He called without looking away from Lisa.

Terry entered the room with a small tray of food on it. He carefully placed in on the nightstand next to the bed. "I see that she is awake and alert." He commented while giving her a friendly wink. "There is some chicken broth and rice for you, Miss. Reisert." He said before excusing himself to allow them privacy. "I'll be downstairs watching football." He added before closing the door.

Jackson slowly reached beside him for the small bowl and a spoon. "How do you feel?" He asked her while trying to keep the mood a little light. "You were asleep for almost five hours."

Lisa rubbed her forehead with one hand as she frowned. That's right. Someone was trying to come after her life and all she remembered was fainting in the car again.

Jackson slowly stirred the contents in the bowl before taking a small amount and holding the spoon out towards her like she was small baby. "You need to eat." He said quietly. "You almost thew up your breakfast earlier and I didn't want you to go back to sleep hungry." She obediently opened her mouth after blowing at the hot broth and took a bit. It was very good and tasty.

"More." She whispered hoarsely, realizing just how hungry she was after the sudden stress on both her mind and body.

"Of course, Leese." He smiled. "Eat only how much you can handle for now."

They didn't say anything as he patiently help feed her. Lisa was going through too much emotional stress after being put through four years of trying to rebuild what was left of her life as a normal person. It was bad enough that he was part of that same mess, but at the same time, Jackson felt that if there was anything that he could do to try and prove his worth to her; it would be doing only what he was known best to do.

Kill anyone who got near her without any mercy while protecting her life with his own.

Surprisingly, she somehow manged to finish all of the soup and rice before lying back against the soft pillows with a satisfied sigh. Jackson reached for the ice water and handed that to her while holding her up with the support of his arm. "Drink a little." He ordered. "It will help your throat and stomach."

She breathed in the faint scent of cologne and his natural musky scent of his skin as he leaned in closer to help her get better access to the water. Her mind felt very muddle and confused but somewhere in there, she knew that she was going to be safe as long as Jack was around to protect her. Even after going through the therapy and healing her battered body from the injuries he had inflicted upon her, Lisa still felt some sort of human connection to him that made her both pity and love the cold blue eyes that always made her stomach do flip-flops.

Lisa reached up and lightly placed her fingertips upon the hand steadying the glass she was holding. He stiffened under her touch for a few seconds before slowly relaxing when she didn't remove her hand away. He let out a rough curse while taking away the glass after she drank almost half of it before turning back to intently study her small face.

"You do realize that anywhere that we may be fleeing to, Leese." Jackson whispered as to not scare her further with his words. "You are no longer who you are now."

Tears filled her green eyes as she looked down at their joined hands. "I don't want to die." She said finally as a small sob escaped her chest.

His heart squeezed tightly as he watched her quietly cry. He didn't want her to cry, but she needed to really understand the full scale of the situation before her. The assassin would stop at nothing of tracking her down once they got wind she had fled with him. And once he or she managed to catch up, Lisa wouldn't even have a chance doing to them what she did to him and surviving the ordeal.

"You will have a whole new identity, Leese." He pressed her hand to emphasis that he was serious about what he was saying to her. "New name, SS number, lifestyle, etc. Nothing that you have now will be relevant to anyone who comes in contact with you until either someone else in the Organization or me, eliminate the threat for good."

Lisa closed her eyes wearily. "I'm tired." She told him softly. Jackson nodded as he got up and gently tucked the blankets once more around her. He stared at her for a few minutes in deep thought, his blue eyes turning a soft grey as he reached down and tucked a loose curl away from her face.

"Just sleep tonight and we'll talk further about this in the morning, Leese." He wasn't sure if she heard him or not, but at this rate, it didn't matter since they both were faced with perhaps long weeks, or even months, of running away from her killers. He needed to be sure that she was going to be strong enough for him and for own self in the face of danger.

Jackson surprised himself as he leaned over her sleeping face and gently kissed her upon her soft lips before exiting the room with the empty dishes.

Romeo was just getting of the phone with someone when Jackson entered the kitchen and put the tray by the sink. "Oh, I talked to a friend of mine that is part of the Canadian FBI in Ontario." He informed the manager while putting away his phone.

"Can he be absolutely trusted?" Jackson asked while he started to wash the dishes.

"Yes. He's got close ties within the Organization himself, in fact, not corrupt ones. Terry is going to see if he can find a few people who would be willing to rent out a small cabin in the reservation forest. Its a little secluded from civilization, but it will offer a plan B hideout if things down't work out in the city."

"I don't want any mistakes to be made about this whole affair." Jackson said very coldly as he dried his hands on a dish towel. Romeo gulped nervously as he was pinned by his employer's hard gaze. "One mistake from either you or your buddy and I will be sure to make your death's very, very, painful. Do you understand me?"

"Y-y-yes, sir." The bodyguard stammered.

Jackson allowed his usual smirk to show. "Good, now that I have gotten that out of the way," He said friendly. "You can see if I am able to get a hold of some proper guns and clips. And I don't meant the ones that you and Terry are carrying on you."

"Um, do you intend of using them?" Romeo dared himself to say out loud. "Last I heard, you often prefer holding a knife than a gun."

"Doesn't mean I can't shoot and for your own information, I fully intend of teaching Lisa a thing or two of how to properly fire a semi-auto."

"What ever you say." Romeo relented with a shrug, pulling back out his phone. "I'll give our boss a call and see what he can do."

Jackson smirked darkly before heading off to go take a hot shower and perhaps properly review the Keef file that was lying on his desk before going calling it a night.

"Peachy."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 11: Guns are not Roses**

* * *

The next morning, Jackson woke up early enough to put a few basic nessecites for Lisa to use while she was taking a shower before leaving the condo for a few hours to take care of some business with . he took Romeo with him but left Terry behind to watch over both the house and Lisa while they were gone.

Needless to say, by the time she got downstairs while drying off her hair with a towel, Terry was fast asleep at the dinner table with his gun lying near his head. Lisa bit her lip as she stared at the sleeping bodyguard. Here was her chance to be able to run away while Jackson was not in the house and find help from a kind stranger to contact the local authorities and her father. She very slowly approached the table and lightly laid her hand on the gun while holding her breath as he stopped snoring for a second or two before incoherantly mummbling in his sleep.

She just needed a little more few inches to get out of his hand and then-

"Terry, I need for you to go get a package for me at the post office in an hour." Jackson said as he suddenly entered through the back door. Lisa froze in place as he came to an abrupt stop at the sight of her standing over his bodyguard with her hand resting in his gun. He slowly shut the door behind him as she stared fearfully up at his amused face. She wallowed as he just silently stood there with a straight face.

"It's not what it looks like, Jack." Lisa said in her own defence. She snatched her hand back as Terry let out a loud snore to prove her innocence.

"I was starting to think that I had left a marked bodyguard while I was away for a little bit." He told her, unsmiling. Jackson took a few steps towards her and stopped. He crossed his arms over his chest. "And just what were you planning on doing if you somehow managed to get away from here?" He taunted. "Call the local authorties? Maybe your dad or," He raised a finger in the air. "Your sister wouldn't even be able to make even a mile before you are spotted by your wanna-be-killer spotted you out there."

Lisa glared. "Then why don't you just take me to my father so that this business can be taken care of." She snapped before hastily clapped a hand over her mouth, looking down at Terry who was beginning to stir himself from the table. He looked up with sleepy eyes and snapped straight up from his seat at the sight of his employer.

"Mr. Rippner !" He cried. "Er, I was...uh, just dozing slightly." He then took notice of Lisa. "Oh, your up!"

"Yeah," Jackson said as he took a hold of her upper arm. "Miss. Reisert," He flashed her a tight smile. "May I talk to you alone in my office?" Before she could protest or get away from him, Jackson already tighten his grip further until she was almost crying from the pressure alone. "Enough, Leese." He hissed in her ear. "We just need to talk things out before you deside to take a hockey stick to my head and try quite unsuccessfully for that matter," He dropped his voice to a low whisper that almost made her want to cum right there in front of poor Terry. "You won't be able to escape from anybody. Not even me. Now let's go talk in private." He pulled her away before stopping just on the first stair and looked back down at the bodyguard. "Terry?"

The bodyguard's face reddened under Jackson's glare. "Yes, sir?"

Jackson nodded at the gun on the table. "Keep a better eye on your firearm or else you will one day find you staring down the barrel of you're own gun in Miss. Reisert's hands."

They left the bodyguard with his mouth hanging as Jackson pulled Lisa behind him as they mounted the stairs. Lisa tried in vain to pull her arm out from his grasp but was unsuccessful. "Jack, Please at least lighten up a bit before you leave a bruise on me!" She begged him as they finally reached his private office. When he ignored her request, she could only bite back a curse as he opened up the door and pulled her inside before slamming it hard against the door frame.

She pulled again at her arm and he instantly let go, causing her to stumble backward against the door as he stalked over to his desk and sat down behind it, glaring up at her with a frown. "Leese, why do you make things so difficult for yourself?" He asked her directly to the point. "Every time that I try to tell you that we mean your well being no harm whatsoever, you must go around and try to stir things up until everything goes to the total shits."

"I didn't' ask for you to isolate me from _everyone_ in my life, Jackson!" She shot back angrily. "Do you even realize what my father and sister will think in their minds once they find I'm no longer at my apartment or work? They will instantly believe that you came after me to finish off what you couldn't do last time!"

Jackson's eyes darken to almost black as he leaned forward on his desk. "And do you honestly don't think I haven't already thought of that scenario, Leese?"

Lisa threw a book at his head, but he easily dodged it as it hid the wall behind him. He tried to keep his growing temper down as this woman who was refusing to listen to reason and see actual facts, believe that her sweet, all-too-good father would come and rescue her somehow.

Oh, what little did she know about her father's true ties to the Organization. "Leese, stop this nonsense right now before I have to take necessary actions to subdue you properly until you come to your sense." He warned, purposely holding her gaze as he reached a hand down to one of the desk drawers, opening it and withdrawing a needle and unknown vial along with it in his hand. He set it down, feeling sorry for himself that she forced him to resort to such a tactic as he watched her eye widen with fear. "I don't want to do this to you if you keep forcing my hand like this, Leese." Jackson continued on softly. "Now be a good girl and just take a seat by my desk so we can talk things over like two adults. Got it?"

Lisa stared at his face and found only seriousness within it before slowly approaching the desk and timidly taking a seat before it. She crossed her legs out of habit while he gave her a small smile before sitting back down himself. "Now that we have got that out of the way, shall we talk perhaps about your new life in Canada?"

"Canada?"

"Yes, I'm going to take you there and start a new "life" for you so that we can keep the killer on a cold trail for as long as we can hold it." He explained in a professional voice while sitting back as he smirked at the shocked expression on her face. "Oh my, is that something akin to a big no I'm hearing right now?"

Lisa tried to wrap her head around the image of her living a lie while under a alias in a country that she had heard of, but never been to in her whole life. "Canada? Are you like freaking serious?" She cried while tossing up a hand. "Of all places, don't you think that would be the first place they would check?"

"Not unless you play my game right, under_ my_ rules, Lisa." Jackson said very softly while using her real name. "In case your memory needs a refresher from the tiny snippet of conversation we had last night while you were trying to fight yourself to stay awake." He reminded her. "You will no longer be you from the time we get to the boarder of Canada. You will be a totally different someone with a different lifestyle with a different line of work." Jackson paused for brief second before continuing on, "But only if you want to stay alive as long as possible while under my total protection."

_Damn you, Jackson. Damn you, damn you. _She fumed silently in her head. "And if I don't want to go with you?" She challenged him. "What if I just decide that I don't want your help at all and demanded you to take me to the local authorities?"

"Then are you ready to die by someone else's hand?" He said so very normal, her ears almost could hear the small laughter behind the remark. "I'm sure whoever want you dead in the first place, won't be so merciful as I was when I held my knife to your pretty neck, Leese."

_Jack's right._ She heard her mind say._ He can protect you, Lisa. Why are you being so stubborn about all of this after all that he did for you since his release two days ago? Hell, you even had a good time last night over dinner! Just give up already and let him help you stay alive. You can't always run away on your own. Its what's going to get you killed in the end. _

She placed a hand to her throbbing temple, dimly remembering that she hadn't yet eaten anything save for that broth with rice soup he fed her the night before. "What other choice can you give me?' She tried one more time. "There has to be at least one."

He got up from his seat and slowly walked to the bar, taking two cups from the cupboard and ice from the fridge. "If I let you walk out of this place without me and I find out that you are dead, Leese." He started while pouring some brandy in the glasses. "What does that make me feel in my cold heart?" He turned around and handed one as he sat back down. She didn't say anything. "It makes me feel like I could have done, said and perhaps prevented your death by just holding onto you tightly until you had no other place to flee to."

He watched her timidly lift the glass to her lips and take a tiny sip. "So what do you say, Leese?" He asked her kindly. "Are you going to allow me to help your or be the cause of why you died so early?"

"I suppose I don't have any other choice in the matter since I already know you have a possessive streak to begin with, Jack." Lisa complained with a sigh. She saw his amused smile appear before he let out a low chuckle.

"Possessive, eh? I didn't know that I was that bad."

"Oh, you don't have any idea how much you make me crazy in the head." She shot at him with a full glare. "How about I just say fine since I don't have any other choice but to accept and you allow me to at least call my father to let him know that I'l alright." She started to get up from her seat, but he reached across the table and grabbed her hand, almost spilling her drink all over herself as he pulled her up to her feet with a hard yank. "Jack!" She cried in surprise of finding herself almost leaning on top of his desk. She had to use on leg pressed against the edge to prevent her from falling on her face as she stared into his piercing blue eyes. "Jack, listen to me." Lisa begged while putting both of her free hand over the one that was holding onto her. "My father must know that I'm ok or else he will have not only the local authorities but the FBI searching for me."

"No." He growled darkly, pulling her closer until she was almost fully kneeling on his desk with her pressing up against his warm body. "If you call him at all, they will know where to find you."

"But my dad-" Lisa protested before his eyes went completely cold and she had to stop in fear of angering him too much. She began to tremble as he reached up and caressed her cheek. "Jack." She whispered. "Just one time. I promise I won't tell him where I"m at. I swear to God.

"No, Leese." He shook his head while releasing her hand and running his fingers through his hair as he took a step back from her. "Understand that its the best way to prevent him and anyone else you care for from becoming the assassin's targets as well."

Lisa stared up at him for a very long moment before grabbing her drink and tossing at his face before he could react. She then slammed the glass against the wall, breaking it into hundreds of pieces before marching out of the office with a loud "FUCK YOU JACKSON RIPPNER! YOU CAN GO TO HELL!" For everyone to hear as the door slammed shut behind her.

Romeo who just had gotten back from making few calls outside, came rushing inside, barely missing Lisa down the hallway after she threw him the F-you finger. "Mr. Rippner?" He asked as he found the manager wiping at the mess on his face and shirt with a napkin. "What the hell just happened here?" Romeo looked down the hallway but she was nowhere to be found.

No doubt that she locked herself inside his bedroom for the whole day and night. He said in his mind while turning back to the broken glass and Jackson's current state. "I see that your negotiations with the young woman went rather splendid, I suppose." He said gracefully while starting to pick up the broken shards of glass off of the floor.

"You can say that again." Jackson hisses as he unbuttoned his shirt and discarded it in the trashcan. "This shirt cost me over six hundred dollars!"

"Then perhaps you didn't anticipate her temper flairs along the ride back here, sir." Romeo pointed out sadly as he continued to clean up the mess. "Perhaps you should just let her cool off and have us deal with her for the time being. A woman doesn't like things being tossed over her head and be suddenly expected to do exactly told, you know."

"Humph. Go figure about women." Jackson snapped as he started to head out the door before turning back around. "I have something important I want you do to."

The bodyguard shrugged. "If you are worried about the paperwork, Terry is already on his way to the postal office."

"Its not about that." Jackson waved aside his comment. "Its about Joe Reisert."

Romeo stopped what he was doing to look up at him. "What about her father?"

"Call him from a payphone somewhere outside the city limits and tell him that his daughter is safe for now. Also be sure to tell him that he will be hearing from dear old friends very soon and to not delay if anything is needed from him. Got it?"

"I'll be sure to relay it exactly as you just said." Romeo replied as he got up and discarded the rest of the broken pieces. "Just one thing though." He said as Jackson started to walk away.

"What?"

"Since when did Terry get guns that have roses on them? I saw him bring one out from his personal arms case just a while ago and place it in Lisa's room."

Jackson stilled. "Is it loaded?" He demanded angrily.

"Not that I know of. I didn't even know that we had such guns in our Organization."

Jackson let out a foul curse. "Then lets just hope that she doesn't plan on escaping from the house tonight or else we are going be shitting out of our pants before the night is even out." He walked off to clean of the strong aroma of brandy off his body and face. It had been one hell of a morning for him when he woke up, but things just got even more worse with Lisa being completely stubborn.

When he passed by his bedroom and found the door locked, he banged loudly on the door until it shook on its hinges.

"GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO FUCKEN TALK TO YOUR TWO-FACE, JACKSON!" He heard her scream from within the room.

"Well, for your own information, Leese," He yelled back as he started to see red in his vision. "I am having one of my bodyguards contact your precious father to let him know that you are safe, but if you think that you are even going to pull another stunt like that again, Lisa Reisert." He paused for breath before continuing loudly. "I will fucken cut you up and leave you to the dogs and they can do whatever the fuck they want to you. Go ahead and be a stubborn ass that you are! Its not going to get you anywhere in life and sure in hell isn't gong to get me in your fucken bed!"

He angrily stormed off to his second guest bedroom where he kept some of his spare clothes. After taking a shower and re-dressing, he went downstairs and signaled for Terry to follow him. "I"m going out for the day and most possible all night." He told him as the bodyguard quickly followed him outside to the car.

"But what about the woman?"

Jackson got in the driver's seat. "She can sit there all she wants until the ducks come home. Her father's isn't going to come take her home. She will die and she will have to think about that while I'm out. As for her safety, Romeo is there and he can babysit."

Terry didn't dare protest further as he cast a skeptical glance back at the condo before getting in the passenger seat. "But what is she tries to escape?"

Jackson smirked darkly at his question. "She won't. Not if she fears everything outside this place until I get her out of here." With that said, he sped out of the back of the house and down the street while Lisa lay on her bed, crying into her teddy bear's fur as his angry thoughts played over and over again in her head.

_"Go ahead and be a stubborn ass that you are! Its not going to get you anywhere in life and sure in hell isn't gong to get me in your fucken bed!"_

Lisa cried even harder as she rolled herself into the fetal position. How can you love a person who hates who you are on the outside? What kind of love is this that she feels for him if he even isn't going to take a second to listen to what she thought about everything? She eventually drifted off to sleep, completely exhausted from crying and the overwhelming stress of the morning.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. This one has been in my mind a lot as of late since I watched the movie a few nights ago. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~**

**Chapter 12: Feelings**

* * *

Lisa slowly peeped outside her door later that evening and found that all was quite save for a faint sound of football playing downstairs.

So she wasn't quite that alone. Slowly descending the stairs one by one, she kept a look out for Jackson but didn't find see or hear him anywhere as she reached the first floor of the condo.

There was a hot plate of mash potatoes, green beans and steak lying on the dinner table along with some water and a small glass of red wine. Her stomach rumbled very loudly as she approached the kitchen table and sat down with a backward glance into the living room where she saw Romeo's big profile sitting quietly on the couch. He loud a curse when his team didn't make a touchdown before turning his head and finding her sitting there. "Oh, so good to see that you are much more relaxed and hungry for food finally." He told her as he stood up with an empty glass in hand. He slowly walked into the kitchen as she warily watched him.

"I don't mean you any harm, if that's what you are thinking, Miss. Reisert." He told her as he poured himself some beer from the fridge. "Think of me as your overgrown babysitter." He added with a friendly smile. Lisa let out a small giggle before covering her mouth. Romeo pointed with his cup. "Are you hungry? I made that personally for you since I heard that you didn't' eat anything since last night."

Lisa bit her lip as she tentatively picked up her fork and started to stab at the green beans before hungrily taking a bite. He watched eat for a minute before taking a seat across from her. "So I suppose that I should properly introduce myself since we will be seeing each other often from now on." Romeo smiled as she took a sip of her water.

Lisa let out a small burp. "I already think we covered that yesterday morning, Romeo. But its nice to meet you nonetheless." She held out her hand across the table.

He stared at it for a moment before gently taking it into his own." Pleasure to meet you." He let go to allow her to finish her over late meal, mentally noting the quick glances she gave the front windows. "If you are wondering about Mr. Rippner," He said while playing with his cup a little. "He won't be back until early morning."

"Where did he go?" She found herself curiously asking dispirit, the down feeling inside. Jackson didn't look very much like a sociable person when it came to anything outside his business.

"He went to a club." He glanced down at his watch. "And speaking of going out, can I trust you that you won't be escaping from here while I take care of some quickly business?"

Lisa had to bit back a sudden out burst of not leaving her behind. Instead, she merely shrugged as she focused on filling her stomach. So what? It wasn't her business anyway to comment or even think about Jackson's personal affairs. He even said that he didn't' much care for her anyway. "I don't have any place to go to after he made it rather clear that if I even stepped a foot outside the door, I'm a dead person."

"Miss. Reisert, if you don't mind me speaking my mind about what transpired between you and Mr. Rippner," Romeo said while sitting back with one hand resting on the table before him. "I don't think you understand what he is feeling."

She fought the urge to want to hit him. She tighten her fingers around her fork. "So?"

"So, you really need to listen to him if you want to continue to live. Jackson does have to think more than just you. He's got a job to do and if you choose to hinder him at every single turn, it will only make things worse for everyone involved. Period."

Swallowing hard, Lisa emptied her wine glass in several gulps. "Then what am I supposed to do with a man that refuses my simple request of calling my father? Doesn't he know what my father is going to think-"

Romeo cut her off suddenly by holding up his hand for silence. "That's enough." He told her in a hard voice. "I see why he is getting mad about you, Lisa." His dark eyes flashed for a moment with irritation. "If anyone of us gets killed in the process of protecting, I sure in hell know who to thank for it in the end."

Lisa watched him stalked to the kitchen sink to put his empty cup. "I'm sorry." She said in a small voice. "Its just I'm scared."

"I know you are very scared, but you need to trust us and most importantly, trust him." Romeo said in a more gentle voice. "Now, I have to go make that call to your dad and let him know you are ok." He looked down at his watch. "Just keep a low profile while I'm gone. Go watch some TV, they have some good TV series hat you might end up liking."

She didn't say anything as she watched him exit the house and hearing him lock the door behind him. Everything, save for the TV, was silent and she felt lonely. She knew that Jackson only wanted to keep her safe, but somehow in her heart, it refused to fully trust his instinct when it came down to talking of killing people and such. How could a normal person such as herself stomach being alone for God only knows how long, in the presence of her former assailant?

"I guess I better do something productive for a while." Lisa said out loud the empty house. Getting up, she gathered her dirty dishes and carefully cleaned and dried them before putting them away in their respective places. Then she went back upstairs to grab her teddy bear and a spare blanket she had found in one of the walk-in closets before hurrying back down the living room where she proceeded to wrap herself up in it and flip through the channels.

_Just how many channels does one need?_ She thought in amazement as hundreds and hundreds of various TV channels came up._ Is he that bored that he must have a full package of Comcast?_

Lisa settled for the old retro channel, giggling slightly to herself at the image of Lucy and Ricky arguing over burnt breakfast. How much she longed deep down for a life of love and a good argument from time to time. Someone who would love and hold her in his arms while whispering love poems and promises of endless devotion. That was the kind of life that Lisa Reisert had always dreamed of since she was little girl until that one night where every dream was shattered by one man.

Her smile faded as her hand absently went into her shirt to touch the knife scar underneath. It still was ugly and big whenever she laid eyes upon it, but it also made a proving mark that she somehow managed to survive even after enduring hours and hours of pain from the rape. Her father had made sure that after the man was arrested and charges were filed against him, that her rapist would never see the light of day again as a free man. Then one day, it came as a surprise to her when they were eating breakfast and the local morning news had reported that her rapist hand died of apparent suicide in the middle of the night, two and half weeks after he was sent to the federal jail to serve life without a possibly of parole.

Lisa remembered how quiet her father was after they watched the full report. He had told her that perhaps the rapist felt so guilty and fear of facing a life of solitude away from society that he couldn't handle it well and decided to take his life instead. Lisa felt a slip of pity for the man, but firmly told herself that at least other women like her would no longer have to hide in fear from a monster such as himself.

She felt her eyes become droopy after a while and soon after, she was lightly snoring away as Lucy and Ricky kissed passionately under a full moon on the TV. That was how Romeo had found her after he came back from his call. He carefully walked into the living room after finding that the young woman was fast asleep on the couch with the TV still on. He turned it off and tucked her more firmly in before dimming the lights to a soft glow and retreating a safe distance to a nearby armchair so he could catch a few Z's himself with his gun resting very casually in his lap. It had been too long of a day and night for them all and he prayed silently that they would live another day without any violence for the time being.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ ****Happy New Years to everyone!*******

**Chapter 13: Jack, do you love me truly?**

* * *

It was almost close to five in the early morning that Jackson walked into the condo with Terry slightly tittering on his feet. "Go get some rest for the whole day." Jackson whispered as he helped steady him with an arm around his waist. "You shouldn't drink when you are on the job." He chided as he helped him into the living room. Romeo was fast asleep but he started to stir at the sound of footsteps. He looked up at them both for a long moment before yawning as he got to his feet and wordlessly relived Jackson of Terry.

"Thank you." Jackson said as he let out a tired sigh.

"Long night at the club, sir?" Romeo asked as he tried to prevent Terry from falling backward. "How the hell did he get this drunk?"

"Beats me, I was gone for only a half an hour and then came back to find him blabbering away at the bar a few blonds before he passed out right before them. I had to drag his ass to the car and drive the car." He put his hand in his pants pocket. "How is she?" He asked without looking at him.

"She's asleep on the couch." The bodyguard replied before lightly slapping Terry on the face. "Come on, I hate it when you are like this." He cursed under his breath before exiting the room with his friend complaining that he was too hot and he wanted to take off his clothes. "Well not on my watch." Jackson heard him complain as they headed to Terry's bedroom.

"Jackson?"

He looked over at the couch, jaw ticking as he slowly walked over to the couch were he found Lisa slightly awake. "Comfortable?" He asked her quietly while he knelt beside her head and caressed a few hairs from her face. Lisa shrugged as she snuggled her face into his palm before he could pull away his hand.

"I"m sorry for what I called you yesterday, Jack." She felt that she wanted to at least make a few things up by being considerate of his feelings after everything that they said to each other. "And for throwing my drink at you. That shirt must have cost you a lot of money." She cracked a smile.

Jackson softly laughed and shook his head. "Na, other women have done much worse things to me in the past in retaliation of me being an asshole." He cocked his head to one side. "So are you going to follow through with what we talked about?"

Lisa slowly stretched her arms out before relaxing back down. "What will happen while we are hiding?"

"I still have my jobs to do of course, but I'm sure that we can work things our somehow." He shrugged. "What are you thinking about, Leese?" He asked her when he found her still staring up at him with those memorizing green eyes.

"Are you going to stay around? I mean, more like...stay with me while you are busy?"

Jackson found that his legs were starting to get tired from kneeling so he switched to sitting down on the floor. He reached up and took one of her small hands into his own. "Only if you want me to, Leese. I could stay someplace else but I'm not going to be very far."

"Romeo told me that I should think about your feelings." She revealed to him. Lisa looked down at their joined hands. "I have to admit that I was very scared of the day you were going to be released from federal prison." She raised her eyes up to his and smiled. "But I'm happy that you are finally here with me again and pray that someday we can work things out."

"But we already are." Jackson pointed out gently. "If you weren't ready for any of these changed that my presence brought with it, I think you would have had no problem sticking another pen in my throat and calling it a day. I spent my four years of serving thinking only of you and your smile when I wasn't able to sleep, Leese."

Jackson cupped her face in his palm to make her look up in his eyes so she could see that he was being sincere about his words. "Ever since I was initiated into the Organization, I always had this firm rule of never becoming involved with any targets that came my way. That often included the women as well. But it all chanced once I met you after spending eight weeks of watching you, learning what you liked, hated, loved, and cherished."

A small tear fell from her eye and fell upon his warm skin. "I longed each time that I saw you sitting in your dad's house, staring at the TV with those sad eyes as if there wasn't anything left in the world to make you happy, to just hold you tightly and tell you that everything was going to be OK. You seemed to long for something but it was always elusive. Always out of your reach until now." He pushed her hand over his beating heart. "I'm here for you now, Leese. Always was there, its just we kind of got off the wrong foot."

"Jack." Lisa's felt her body tremble as he turned his head to kiss her inner wrist. Her heart felt light and full of life as she stared at the man who once scared her life at one point, only to come back different with only a plea of forgiveness from her. "Kiss me." She found herself asking him outloud. Jackson's head snapped up. She firmly stared at him. "Kiss me." She repeated. "I want to make sure that this isn't a dream, Jack. I"m tired of dreaming and always waking up to find that its only dream and that I'm alone."

Jackson cupped her face in his hands and drew her near, his warm breath falling upon her sweet lips as she closed her eyes. Then just as fate would have it, his phone loudly rang making the two spring apart as if they had burned each other. "Fucken shit." He cursed as he found that the number belonged to Steven. He held up a finger at Lisa as she went back to cuddling in her blanket with a small pout on her face. "What is it?" He answered a little too sharply. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Since when does time even matter to you, Rippner?" Steven snapped back. A few shuffling movements in the background and then he let out a sigh. "I got a call from one of Romeo's former employers in Canada. He says that he has a place that you and Miss. Reisert can hang out until we get more information of the assassin's information and whereabouts. But I would highly suggest that you get moving before the morning is out if you want an easy escape into the country. He has most of his men on alert for your arrival at the boarder, but if you go later, things might get a little dicey."

"Has there been an intel in any of the circles that you are associated with, Steven?" Jackson asked as he went to stare at into the dark streets.

"None, but I'd be sure to let you know. Have you managed to take a look at the file that we have you on Keef?"

Jackson wished that was the last question that he asked him. "Not fully, but I'll be sure to read it once we are settled in Canada."

"Good. I'll send you all the information asap that you will need for her. Just be sure to keep a low profile until we do and keep her alive. I don't want to deal with her father again. Last time was enough for me and my own Organization. He almost killed me in the process of making sure we eliminated her rapist."

"Yeah, I am fully aware of that." Jackson replied as he looked over at Lisa out of the corner of his eye. "Too aware."

"Is there anything else that you need?"

Jackson thought for a moment. "How about some money for supplies, clothes and other stuff?" He asked after a long pause. "I still haven't seen any changes in my empty bank account."

"I am wiring 30,000 dollars to your account as we speak." Steven said as he typed in a few things on to his laptop and hit enter. "Done. I'll be calling soon, Jackson."

"Sure thing." Jackson replied before the line went dead. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and stared out the window. "Are you still awake?" He asked out loud.

"Of course, Jack." Lisa's sleepy voice replied from the couch.

"We are leaving in a few hours. Get some sleep and I'll wake you up in an hour." He told her as he walked back to her and kissed her firmly before she could respond. "You will like Canada. All the snow, fresh air, new people and food."

Lisa snorted as she playfully swatted at his arm. "Yeah, and I don't speak french."

"But I do." He smiled before kissing her again. "Sleep for a while and I promise you that everything is alright."

"As long as you are here, I"m safe." She corrected him before closing her eyes. Jackson sat by her until he was sure she was fully sleeping and got up to head upstairs to pack up his bag and arms case. There were still some secrets she didn't know about him that he preferred to keep under wraps. Secrets that he even had forgotten until he found himself thinking about them when he was totally alone.

"Life is just peachy." He muttered under his breath while stripping out of his clothes in the bathroom.

Basically, life was a total bitch to those who looked for shit and all they found was him standing in the shadows with his favorite knife in hand, ready to defend those who deserved to be protected.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ ****Happy New Years to everyone!*******

**Chapter 14: Understanding**

* * *

"Is there no other way for us to get to Canada?" Lisa asked Jackson over breakfast. Terry came into the room, moaning loudly as Romeo chided him about his hangover. "I don't like planes, Jack." She said as she stared at her almost empty plate.

Jackson shook his head at her as he stared at his newspaper. "Driving is an option that I prefer to not use, Leese. Besides, if we use the private airport instead of the usual, we have a better chance of not being noticed by the ones who are after you."

"Can I make a suggestion, sir?" Romeo spoke up from the kitchen counter where he was pouring too cups of black coffee. When no one said anything, he took it as a silent yes. "Driving might be the only way we can avoid being detected. If we take any planes to get to Canada, we are running a high chance of some easily recognizing Miss. Reisert here. Yeah, its a long drive, but better that then getting her killed in the process." He took a sip of his coffee while Lisa turned expectantly to Jackson.

"See?" She said emphatically. "Driving is better."

He fought the urge to toss his empty cup at Romeo's head as he let out an irritated sigh before slamming down his newspaper on the table as he got up from his seat. "Why the hell not?" He hissed as she stared up at him with wide eyes. "I just hope you know that its going to be almost two days straight of driving, so you better find something to entertain yourselves."

Everyone watched him stomp upstairs. It was very silent for a few minutes before Terry loudly cleared his throat. "Well, I do like road trips myself." He pipped brightly as he cast a disdained look down at his dark coffee. "Anything except this." He muttered as he took a hard swallow of the hash drink. "Could have put some sugar this shit at least, man." He complained.

"Like I need a hyper bodyguard on my hands while we are on the move." Romeo grumbled. He turned around at Lisa. "Are you packed up?"

She pushed away her dish. "I didn't use any of my clothes." She walked away from them and up the stairs to the bedroom. She stopped at the sight of Jackson silently staring down at his gun, not knowing that she was standing by the doorway. His whole back was tense. Lisa watched his hands reach for the two clips that were sitting on the bed and in two seconds, he had one slipped in while the other one was hidden under his pants belt. "Jackson?" She whispered softly as she timidly knocked on the door as to not startled him. "Is everything alright?"

"Since when is everything _alright_, Leese?"Jackson snapped before slipping past her without another word. Lisa watched his departing back for a moment. What was wrong with him now? Just when one would think that they were getting along, he suddenly has this male version of PMS and then everyone was back at square one.

Not wasting any time, Lisa quickly used the bathroom, brushed her teeth and dressed in slightly warmer clothes since she wasn't sure if the coming evening was going to be cooler. As she stuffed her teddy bear into her luggage, she noticed that in her smaller compartment, there was a gun with three loaded clips packed away. Lifting it out to take a closer inspection, Lisa felt a cold sensation run along her spine at the faint memory of shooting at Jack when he tried to run away.

"Its for your own good, Miss. Reisert." Terry said suddenly from the doorway. She accidentally dropped the gun on the floor in surprise. Raising a finger in the air, he ambled in and picked it up, tossing it several times back and forth between his hands before placing it back in hers. "You have to have a steady hand when you are holding." He said, gently wrapping her fingers around it and holding her arm up at the wall. "Hold it steady and never allow your target to see the emotions in your eyes unless you want them to shoot at you first. It only takes a single second to distract yourself from the situation and everything that you did to that point will be completely fruitless."

Lisa could hear her breathing in her ears as she tried to imagine Jack's emotions when he was staring up at her and her father after being shot multiple times in the back. "Does everyone fear death?" She found her self asking the bodyguard. Terry's forehead wrinkled for a second at her question. "Do you fear death?" She asked him firmly.

He silently released his hand over hers and took the gun away to pack it where it was in her luggage. "Death comes with the job that we do, Miss. Reisert." He replied in an emotionless voice before straightening up. "It just part of life. Death will eventually come to all of us someday. We just don't know when it will be."

"Then how does Jackson do it when he is about to kill a person?" Lisa stopped him when he started to walk away.

Terry shrugged his shoulders as a sad expression came into his eyes. "That is something that I cannot answer, even if I wanted to." He replied before coming back and picking up her suitcase. "Oh, Mr. Rippner!" He exclaimed when he saw Jackson silently standing there by the doorway. "I was just finishing up getting her things." He held up the case to prove his point. "Bring a pillow, Miss. Reisert," Terry smiled brightly back at Lisa who was staring up at Jack's blank face. "You gonna need it."

He left them whistling a merry tune. Once Terry was out of sight, Jackson slowly entered the room and shut the door behind him. "Asking a lot of questions, I see, Leese." He said very slowly while moving forward towards her. Lisa started to back away until she felt herself falling backwards onto her butt on the edge of the bed. He made several tisking noises. "Its going to get your ass in major trouble one of these days."

"I-I only wanted to understand what it feels like in case I should hold a gun again." Lisa said in defense. She let out a small squeak when he forced her to lie down on her back with him hovering over her, pressing his lower half into hers as he leaned his head down next to her ear. "

"That's not good enough of an excuse, Leese. And you know it."

She stared up at the ceiling. Then what did he want her to say? That is all cool that he is a cold-hearted killer who God only knows, how many people he has killed within his career.

Jackson smirked as he watched her eyes for a moment. "Cat got your tongue, Leese?" When she didn't respond to his taunt, Jackson suddenly grabbed her face with one hand and kissed her hard upon the lips before she could possibly react. He reached up and pinned her wrists above her head with one hand while using the other to fondled her breasts over the sweater she was wearing.

Dear God, her scent was so intoxicating to him. Every time he smelled her, he swore he was getting high. "Dammit, Leese." He swore angrily when she didn't respond to him. "Why are you doing this to me since this is what you asked fro me?"

Lisa took in several shaky breaths. "Can you let me breath a little bit?" She begged him. "You're too heavy."

Jackson didn't move right away. Instead, he lifted his body slightly off of hers. "Better?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, a little bit."

"What is it that you need to understand better about me?" He asked her softly. "What I do for a living? That part is pretty damn made clear a long time ago if you ask me, Leese"

_I don't know what I want to know about you anymore, Jack. _Lisa found herself becoming memorized by his blue eyes. "Maybe what does death feel like when you are being kissed by it?"

She was rewarded by his jaw dropping. "You are death, Jack. You just done see it whenever you look in the mirror. So it makes me wonder what you are thinking in the moment of watching someone die by your own hand."

"Leese, you aren't making much sense here." Jackson grimaced as he rolled off of her. Lisa looked up at him with a small disappointed look. "What?"

"Tell me one thing about you that I don't know, Jack." She whispered while running a hand over the smooth bed covers. She didn't look up to see his reaction. "Just one thing."

"One thing?" He asked her. "Like what?"

She shrugged. "Anything."

Jackson let out a harsh breath and began pacing about the room for a few minutes as they heard Romeo and Terry arguing again about what to eat later for dinner. He looked up at the ceiling as Lisa neatly crossed her legs over each other and waited. Jackson fluttered his hands for a few minutes and then turned towards her.

"I have a fondness for cats." He said emotionally. Lisa tried not to giggle as she imagined this hard type of guy being all cuddly with a cute cat or two. She swore she saw an amused twinkle in his eye but he quickly swore at her and stomped out of the bedroom, barking for her to hurry downstairs so they could get going before mid-day. Perhaps if she had been paying a little more attention to him after grabbing a fluffy pillow from the bed, she would have seen a rare, genuine, happy, kid-like smile on his lips.

Apparently, there was a softer side to Jackson Rippner, but it was all covered in layers of different personalities that he had learned to use in a quick defense in the face of danger. He just wasn't all too sure if he wanted to peel himself open in front of her eyes right now when danger was still lurking at every corner.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ ****Happy New Years to everyone!*******

**Chapter 15: Lisa, Lisa**

* * *

Time seemed to swim this way and that during the long drive to the Canadian border. Sometimes she was sleeping, dreaming constantly about her family's worried expressions and reactions to her sudden disappearance, or those worried dreams would somehow morph themselves into Jackson where she found herself holding her hands towards him while he stood there and stared with cold blue eyes. It was during those brief moments of sleep that Lisa would suddenly gasp out loud and find Jackson staring at her strangely before he just shook his head and revert his gaze out his own window.

"I'm hungry." She later said to everyone. It had been almost eight hours of straight driving, not counting the pit and gas stops that they had to make along the way. "Do you think there is a roadside diner around here?"

Jackson yawned. "If I'm correct, there might be one withing four miles from here." He said much to everyone's disappointment. "Hey, I wasn't the one who suggested this road trip, guys." He held up his hands in the air before dropping them in his lap. "You can thank Romeo here for getting us all into this nice little predicament in the first place."

"I still think its way better than taking a plane." Romeo remarked. "At least we are enjoying ourselves and the silence."

Jackson glared at him through the mirror. "Care to repeat any of those snappy comments again, and I'll put a quick fix to that tongue of yours."

"Jack." Lisa lightly hit him on the arm. "You don't have to be so mean about it. We are already have spent over almost eight and half hours on the road and we are hungry and cranky. Besides," She gave him a disapproving glare of her own. "You could at least thank them for driving instead of you."

" My dear, Leese." Jackson complained with a roll of his eyes. "Will you just let me speak and stop always interfering?"

"Hey, I"m just trying to prevent us from getting into a car accident, Jack." She shot back tightly. Jackson started to say something else but she turned her head, crossing her arms before her.

Shit. That wasn't a good sign with Leese was in her temper-flair mode. "Lisa?" He forced himself to speak a little softer. "I apologize for what I just said."

"It doesn't help when you have ass sitting on top of your head, Jack. They are tired too just like you and me, but you have to learn to better understand that they are only humans too. Feelings come into a big time play and if you refuse to listen to them, then expect shit to fuck up on you at every turn." Lisa said venomously before abruptly cutting herself off when her stomach rumbled loudly. "And I'm still fucken hungry."

Terry pulled out the map from the glove compartment with a sigh. "I'll see where the hell we are at and find someplace to eat." He told everyone as he studied the map.

"Thank God for you." Romeo praised him with a shake of his head. "Always got to give it to the people who can still read a map or two in their lifetime."

It was about another hour and half of more driving and refilling the tank before they finally found a decent old mom and pop's dinner at the side of the road. Jackson motioned for Lisa to stay beside him as he took the lead into the diner with his two bodyguards following behind them. The place itself was a nice one, about five customers were sitting at various tables and two more at the dinner bar.

A fat blond waitress looked up a the four customers and smiled brightly. "Hello ma'am and sirs, looking for something to eat?" She greeted them while they took a seat at a booth closest to the front door. "What can I get for ya to drink?"

Romeo and Terry grimaces at the thought of coffee but thinking that they had no other choice, given that they still had much miles to cover until Canada's boarders, they reluctantly ordered two joe's. "And please bring sugar and cream." Terry asked as she wrote down their drinks.

"Ok, two regular joe's with cream and sugar. And what would you like, miss?" The waitress smiled kindly down at Lisa.

"Um, some orange juice and hot tea?" Lisa replied with a small laugh as her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Gawd, Lord, miss," The blond shook her head. "You are almost thing but skin and bones. You need to put some meat on those if you want to have babies."

Jackson chuckled at the shocked looks on Lisa's face and his bodyguards at the abrupt comment. She stared at him too. "And you sir? What ya'll have to drink?"

"Just coffee. Black." HE replied smoothly while placing a hand over Lisa's.

"Ok, I got two joe's, one orange juice, hot tea and a cup of black coffee." She quickly turned around to grab four menus off the nearby bar and handed them out. "I"ll be back with ya'll's drinks."

"I"m starving." Terry said with a groan. "I'll order the french toast and eggs. What about you, Rome?" He turned to his friend. "Going healthy again? That salad sure in hell didn't do very much good for ya the other night."

"Look who's talking." Romeo muttered. "I'll order the same as you. Just I'll add some fruit to go with it so I don't end up feeling guilty about it later."

"How are you feeling?" Jackson asked quietly asked while browsing his menu. Their waitress came back with their drinks and set them down before telling them that she'd give them a few minutes to make up their minds before ordering. Lisa waited until she was out of earshot to reply.

"I feel like shit."

He chuckled and patted her leg underneath the table with his free hand. "Sounds about right. I"m sure you will feel just fine once we reach our destination. I need a long shower and some sleep after all of this is over."

Lisa found what she wanted and closed her menu. "So what happens afterwards?" She asked while stirring her tea with a spoon.

"After what?" Jackson said while taking a sip of coffee. "After we arrive?"

She nodded. "We mustn't talk about this while we are surrounded by strangers." He warned while casting a dark glance around them. "Too many eavesdroppers."

"All we can tell you though," Romeo spoke up lightly while pouring three packs of sugar in his drink and stirring it while she frowned. "Hey, when you are the assigned driver," He wiggled a finger at her face. "You need something sweet in your system from time to time."

"Almost failed the health assignment test after the doc found out that he had been eating way too much processed foods." Terry said with a mock sigh. "And you keep telling me to watch it with my diet." He grumbled.

"You are a young man, Terry." Romeo growled back with a shove at his partner. "I have already lived three decades where I am allowed to eat what I want just as long as I don't overdo it."

"That's not what you did the last time I caught you eating my Twinkies."

"Why you, little bast-"

"Gentlemen, stop it." Jackson warned. "You forget that we are in public?" He nodded at the patrons that had turned around to stare at them. Lisa covered her mouth with her hand to hide the smirk on her lips as the bodyguards turned bright red and muttered apologizes. "Sorry about that." Jackson said out loud. "They just don't know when to behave."

After several shakes of their heads, the other diners turned back to their meal and private conversations. Their waitress hurried back over and took down their meals. Lisa lightly touched her hand just as she was about to turn around. "Where is the ladies restroom?" She asked politely. "I really need to go."

"Oh, its straight down that hall to your immediate left."

"Thank you." Lisa replied as she hurried towards the hallway. Jackson didn't say anything but intently watched her retreating back while sipping slowly from his cup, eyes darkening as he continued to watch.

"You are thinking with that look on your face, Rippner." Terry spoke up as he leaned back in his seat. "Thinking she might pull something again?"

"The woman is always full of surprises." Jackson replied with a slight twist of his lips. "You just have to learn to be two steps ahead of when you have past experience with surprises."

"That's lovely to think about." Grunted Romeo. "Think we can trust her with our backs?"

Jackson turned his eyes upon his bodyguard's serious face. "It remains to be seen."

Meanwhile, Lisa was pulling out a cellphone she had secretly hidden away in her bra while packing up some of her things back a the apartment. She firmly locked the door behind her and dialed the one number she knew someone would pick up her call. Sitting against the door, she silently crossed her fingers togather as she waited for the ringing to stop.

"Hello?" She heard her father answer in a worried voice.

"Daddy?" She whispered as to not be overheard from the other side of the door. "Daddy, it's me, Lisa."

"Dear God! Where are the hell are you?" Her father cried. "Do you even know how worried and frightened your sister and I are since we found out that your apartment was raided by burglars? And who the hell is the guy that called me last night, saying that you were fine?"

Lisa shook her head as she tried to stop her father from say anything more before Jack stared to notice her too-long absence. "Daddy, I'l alright. I'm in good hands and I just wanted you to hear me to prove to you that I"m still very much alive and well." Tears began to fill her eyes as she heard her father sigh, almost a very heavy sigh that she only heard whenever he was highly upset.

"Leese, just tell me where you are at so at least I can get someone to track you down and bring you back home."

Lisa silently cried. "Daddy, I know that you want me home, but someone is after me and I can't put any of you guys in danger again."

"WHO IS THE FUCKEN BASTARD THAT WANTS YOU DEAD?" Joe Reisert screamed. "Is it that bastard Jackson Rippner? I swear to go if he so much as touch you again, I'll make sure that he is dead by putting a bullet in his head!"

"No,no,no!" Lisa cried before clapping a hand over her mouth at the loudness over her voice in the small bathroom. "He's not going to hurt me, Daddy." She tried to calm her father down as she heard labored breathing. "In fact, he is the one who ordered my apartment to appear as if it had been broken into so it would throw my killer off."

There was almost two painful minutes of silence before Joe spoke again very quietly. "Are you with him right now?"

"Yes."

"And where are you going?"

"I can't tell you that, Daddy. Please understand that its for you and Cynthia's well being to not know where I'm going. But I swear that Jackson is taking good care of me and as long as he's alive, I'm alive."

"Are you sure you fully trust this same man who almost tried to kill you four years ago for foiling Keef's failed assassination?"

Lisa paused for a moment. Could she possibly trust Jackson completely? "I'm sure." She finally said before a single tear fell from her eye.

"Then I will promise to keep an eye out for you when they find this person who wants you dead." Joe promised. "You just better keep your head down and listen to whatever Jackson tell you to do." He paused for a second. "Even if it means that you must kill someone to stay alive."

Lisa nodded slowly as her father's words sank themselves into her mind. "Yes, daddy."

"Now hang up and destroy the cell phone before someone finds this signal. I love you, angel."

"I love you too, daddy." She replied tearfully before hanging up as the tears poured down her cheeks. Life didn't seem very fair to her as of right now, but Jackson was her only chance to being able to survive this ordeal if she even had a possible chance.

"Oh, Leese," She suddenly heard Jackson's voice sang from the other side of the doorway. "Why don't you open this door? Your food is starting to get cold at the table."

Trembling at what she had just done, Lisa got to her feet and stared at the phone in her hand. "I'll be out in a sec," She called back in a normal voice. "I just was going number two."

"Sure in hell you were." Jackson calmly replied. "I know what you did just now and let me tell you something, Leese." His voice purred while her heart hammered in her chest. "Be glad that I pulled that signal as soon as you were finished with that little call with your father or else we would have been found out by your killer. Wash your hands, rinse off your face and unlock this door or else..." A long pause. "You don't like it if I become upset." He finished.

Lisa did as he asked and slowly unlocked the door and opened it to find him leaning against the door frame with one hand as he held out the other towards her. "The cellphone, Leese." He pressed firmly.

She glared as hard as she could with a tight jaw while slamming her evidence in his palm before stalking off. Jackson watched her head back to the booth and give his bodyguards that plastic smile. "Lisa, Lisa, what have you done?" He whispered while slipping it into his pants pocket. "You know better than to pull such little stunts with the likes of me."

Lisa didn't say anything when he came back to the table but the worried looks on Romeo and Terry's face made her feel guilty at the thought that she almost put everyone's lives, including her own on the line with her call to her father. "I'm sorry, Jack." She apologized softly while staring down her plate of fruits.

"Just eat and let's get going before the day lingers. We are already an hour behind of scheduled." Jackson snapped angrily as he started to eat his food. "Terry, you take the backseat. I'll drive tonight."

"Sure thing, sir." Terry replied as he cast a small glance at Lisa's guilt-ridden face. "We should be there within the next eight hours if we are lucky to get past the boarder guards."

"Then let's hope that we only have to deal with them and not anyone else. I don't want anymore unwanted surprises, Leese." Jackson warned her in her ear. "Or else we will need to sedate you for the rest of the trip. I"m sure that isn't what you want from me, now is it?"

Lisa forced herself to eat the food in front of her as her stomach felt like not wanting anything as of that moment. "No, its not, Jack." She replied. "I promise no more surprises from now on."

He smiled and almost tenderly caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Good. Then we are in mutual understanding of each other."

Lisa turned her face away and wiped a small tear from her eye but not before both bodyguards took notice of it and exchanged silent looks with each other and returned their attestation to their belated meal before either she or Jackson noticed. Just eight more hours to go and then, perhaps some better explaining under privacy of a warm condo and a few hours of proper rest.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ ****Happy New Years to everyone!*******

**Chapter 16: Moving In**

* * *

"May I see you passport and state license sir?" The Canadian boarder patrol officer said later that night when Jackson drove up to the boarder. Jackson silently handed it to him, his eyes taking in everything while the other passengers were fast asleep. The officer shined his light on his face for a moment before looking in to see the other faces of the fellow passengers. "So you are the one that my head supervisor talked about." He said calmly while handing Jack his personal papers.

"Yes, I am."

"Well, its going to be tough, but my supervisor is already taking care of the paperwork for you. Just report in as soon as you settled in." The guy said as he stepped away from the car and signaled to his booth to allow the car to pass. "Welcome to Canada, sir." He said cheerfully. "I hope it meets your expectations."

Jackson smirked at him. "I'm sure it will." He said before driving away. He rolled up the window and checked on Lisa's sleeping form beside him on the passenger seat. She looked so peaceful and serene. He almost wished that he could turn the car around and take her back to her dad's, but he had already passed the boarder and it was too late to do anything about it.

"I"ll _try_ not to make your life a hell hole while we are hiding here, Leese." He said quietly. "I know that you can't hear me right now because you are asleep, but I promise when you wake up, things will be different for the both of us."

The weather was clear, but cold enough for Jackson to turn on the heater to keep everyone warm while he drove to the city that they were going to be living in. A new life with a new identity usually wouldn't be much of a problem for him, but he had Lisa to consider now. She didn't talk to either him or the bodyguards after making that call to her father. They had silently eaten their food, paid and left under a heavy cloud of tension. Up to this point, Lisa still hadn't even said a word to him after he had destroyed the cell phone and warned Terry and Romeo to keep a careful watch over her goings and comings from there on.

"Jack?" He heard his name softly mumbled by Lisa. "Where are we?"

"I thought we were on a no talking term." He replied without looking over at her face. "We just crossed the Canadian boarder a few minutes ago while you were sleeping." He added with a snort. "Anything else you would like to know?"

Lisa rubbed her eyes after stretching out her body as much as her seat belt could allow. Terry and Romeo both let out loud snores simultaneously in the back. "How much further do we have until we get to the new place?" She quietly asked him while studying her hands. "I must have slept like a log."

"Indeed you did." Jackson replied without enthusiasm.

She studied his face for a while as they drove past small villages, roads where there was a lot of pastures and livestock. "Are you still upset about yesterday?"

"What do you think?" he thew her a dark glare before returning his attention back to the road. "Things tend to get a little suspicious when a person takes more than five minutes to use the fucken toilet. I mean," Jackson threw up a hand in the air to show his irritation. "What the fuck were you even thinking?"

"I only wanted my father to hear my voice so he knew for sure that I was alive and well." Lisa said with a slight catch in her voice. She looked up at the sky and found clouds lingering amid the soft rays of the coming morning. "He was worried to death about me, Jack. After everything that has happened to me in the past, I don't think he could bear not knowing if I was safe from harm."

Jackson silently agreed with her in his head, but his past work with such scenarios scream total no,no. "Lisa, anything that I say to you is meant to keep them from finding you." He told her with a side glance. "I couldn't or wouldn't be able to live with myself if you were killed on my watch. I just could't live with that. So you are going to have to live with my rules or go ahead and trust your own issues and end up dead because of them. Take your choice, Leese."

They fell silent as more and more of Canada's beautiful scenery came into view. From the high mountain peaks topped with snow, to the breath taking landscape of green grass, clean streets and hundreds of thousands of happy face that passed by in view. Everything was breath taking to the eye and mind, but inside Lisa's heart, there was a feeling of loneliness and homesick for the two people who cared the most for her, dad and Cynthia.

"Lisa?" She dimly heard Jack's voice calling her back to reality as she realized that they had finally arrived at the city of Ontario. "Yeah?" She replied while looking out her window at the view of tall building, shopping malls, various grocery stores, etc. there was even a fish market that sold fresh produce as well.

"I need to see that you have some decent clothes to wear." He told her while making several sharp turns around corners before slowing down one street where they pulled up to a two story condo with a front gate. Jackson pulled up to the keypad and punched in several numbers before continuing to drive into the main courtyard.  
"Time to wake up sleeping beauties and see your new home." He said loudly. The bodyguards groaned and mumbled while struggling to get their eyes open.

"Are we there yet?" Terry said in mid-stretch.

"Of course we are here or else we'd still be asleep with our asses in the air." Complained Romeo as he opened up the door and got out. "Come on, we got to secure the place down before we let her in. And don't forget your gun again like last time."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you loud and clear."

Lisa could see from the outside that there was a nice front yard with plenty of different flowers and shrubs she could work on for her hobby. The home itself had a round shape to it with two levels of glass windows. White pavement, a large mermaid fountain in the middle of the driveway that was surrounded by little rose bushes, a side parking garage that looked small on the outside, but she swore that it must be twice as large on the inside.

"I'm impressed." She said turning back to Jackson who was looking at her with a small frown. "What is it?" She lifted a hand to her rumpled hair. "Is there something wrong with my face? I know that I must look a mess."

"No, I'm worried about you."

Romeo interrupted suddenly by appearing by the driver's side. "It's secured, but boy, we have some empty spots to fill in there." He said with a roll of his eyes. "They could have at least put in the beds if not the furniture. Where the hell is the fridge?"

"There no refrigerator?" Lisa asked with a dropped jaw. "How are we going to store food if there is no fridge?" She cupped a hand over her mouth as a thought dawn on her. "Is there at least hot running water?"

Romeo shrugged as he took a step back to allow Jackson room to get out of the car. "What do we do in the mean time?" He asked him. "This place is nice and all, but there isn't very much of _anything_ inside."

Jackson grunted as he slammed the door. "I thought as much. Let me make a few calls around and give her a tour around the house so she can see what room she wants." He said to them before walking off a little ways.

Lisa stretched herself out and breathed in the coo, crisp Canadian air. As much as she hated to say it, perhaps things weren't going to all that bad after all just as long as they-

"I thought you were already going to have at least some basic necessities in place, Steven!" She heard Jackson yell angrily into his cellphone. "Hell, there isn't any beds, no fridge, I would hate to go inside and find that there isn't any locks on the fucken doors."

"Why don't you just follow me into the house, Miss. Reisert?' Romeo suggested while taking a hold of her upper arm as he steered them both towards the front door of the house. "I think there is one bedroom that will suit your needs. It's even got a Jacuzzi bathtub and a separate shower in the adjoined bathroom."

"Oh, that sounds rather inviting." Lisa agreed. She took a look back to see Jackson's face flair red with anger as he let out several more curses before quickly walking out of sight towards perhaps the backyard. "Is he going to be ok?" She asked Romeo while they walked inside the main hall.

"There isn't anything that they won't do for him. It's just because this was kinda last minute, I'm sure they weren't thinking at all about what the house or its new occupants would need." He assured her while stepping around a door that led into an very nice designed kitchen. Despite the fact that it didn't have a fridge, Lisa actually liked the wide openness of the kitchen with the small double panned windows that overlooked both the back yard and front part of the driveway to the fair amounts of kitchen cabinets to the stainless steel double sinks, dish washers, touch screen stoves and the black marble counters. There was even a island in the middle of the kitchen where they could either eat or serve food.

The living room was divided into two parts, the larger being an office that faced the side of the house where a person can stare outside and see nothing but flowers and the bright sky outside and the other part being the living room with plenty of space to perhaps hold about a hundred guests. They found that the house itself, thanks to it circular shape, allowed them to be able to get a whole bird's eye view of what was going on around them, but as Romeo pointed out by pressing a button on the wall, no one could look inside thanks to the automated blinds that slid down to the ground, allowing full privacy from unwanted eyes.

"And we can always install bulletproof windows and metal shutters to add security once we know how much money we are going to get from our sponsors." He had said in an encouraging voice as he led her upstairs to take a look at the bedrooms. Terry was in one of the smaller bedrooms, already planning where he was going to put things and mumbling about painting his white walls perhaps a different color to help bring in more light when the sun was up. Lisa let out a titter as she continued onward, Romeo told her that they had already picked their rooms so she didn't have to worry about them.

The house contained five bedrooms, two smaller ones, and three main ones with adjoined bathrooms with all the fixes that Romeo had described earlier. Lisa eventually settled for the medium sized master bedroom, perfering the french style windows to the wood paneled ones that the other two had. The room was very spacious, but not too much that she would feel small or insecure once everything was in place. Every room itself had two walk-in closets and two smaller closet that could be used to store extra things inside.

There was both an upstairs main bathroom and a downs stairs smaller guest bathroom with easy access to a built in TV, much to the surprised of Lisa but not so to the bodyguards since they were happy that they could watch TV while getting ready or just taking a good soak in the tub.

"Leese? Where are you in this huge place?" They heard Jackson calling from somewhere downstairs.

Lisa went outside of her room and leaned herself over the stair banister. "Up here, Jack." She called down. Jackson came into to view and looked up at her in relief. "You should check the upstairs. There is a laundry room up here as well." She suggested.

Jackson put his hand in his pants pockets as a small smile lite up his handsome face. "So when would you like to go shopping?"

Romeo and Terry came running out like two little boys who had overhead someone saying the word 'candy'. "Did he give you more money?" Terry asked with a look of surprise. "I'd thought dragging him through the mud before you could was going to be a lot harder."

"Let's just say that a few choices of words was all that did the trick." Jackson replied slowly while beckoning Lisa to join him downstairs. "But first things first. Grocery shopping after we buy us a fridge and then breakfast and then some furniture shopping."

"I'm all up for that." Lisa said while flying down towards the stairwell. "Come on, you two. We need to get going and I'm starving."

* * *

Meanwhile, someplace else in the world, a man sat at his desk, starting at the photo of Lisa Reisert while sipping a glass of brandy. So far, there hasn't been any sign of the woman who foiled his plans of killing Keef in order to get what he wanted the most. Her apartment in Miami was completely destroyed from top to bottom and the authorities were scrambling to find any clues of what could have happened to the woman.

The man slammed a knife into the picture, pinning it against his desk as he drained his cup. He knew she was hiding somewhere with that bastard, Rippner and it wouldn't be too long before he found out her exact location.

Smiling, he got up and gathered a few things from his desk and personal items.

It was time to pay Mr. Reisert a long needed visit from the past.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ ****Happy New Years to everyone!*******

**Chapter 17: Lisa's Nightmare, Jack's comfort**

* * *

_Everything happened in slow motioned. From the way that the killer held a large knife over her heart to scream that seemed to tear from her lungs as he plunged it straight downwards, repeatedly as blood sprayed all over the place. Lisa tried to fight off her faceless attacker but to no avail as he cut her palms, arms, chest until she felt almost light headed from the pain. She could already see her father's spirit spring from his dead body a few feet away and stare at her sadly for as second before slowly floating upwards toward's the night sky._

_She tried to call out his name one last time as the knife came into contact with her heart, but blood gurgled around her mouth, cutting any words that she was saying as her vision slowly began to fade into utter blackness for a brief moment before a blinding light suddenly surrounded her completely. Looking down at her bloodied body and her attacker, Lisa felt almost relived that she no longer had to hide anymore from anyone. She was going to turn to the light to join her father when she heard several shots rang out down below and had turned her head just in time to see her killer suddenly crumple to the ground beside her._

_"LISA!" Jackson's panicked voice screamed as he came into view and knelt by her dead body, shouting out her name repeatedly as he rocked her in his arms. "God, why did you do this to me? Why the fuck couldn't it me instead of my Leese?" He screamed up at the sky before breaking down in tears as he hugged her even tighter to him, not caring that his clothes were becoming covered with her blood._

_"Jack..."_

_"Lisa?" A quite voice spoke behind her. _

_"Grandma?" Lisa said in surprise to find her dead grandmother standing beside her with a sad expression on her kind face. "I don't want to leave him, Grandma."_

_"I know, but you can't. Your dead and he has to move on with that. He will heal eventually over time."_

_Lisa stared at Jackson, her own tears flowing freely down her face as her heart broke to see him so venerable and frail, no longer the hard, stubborn man she had once known to break down all barriers without a care in the world. "Jack."_

_She gently floated down beside him and reached out a hand, gently caressing the side of his face with her finger. Jackson's head snapped up as if he had been electrocuted by something and looked around him in confusion before staring at her lifeless eyes. "Leese?" He whispered softly as he cupped her face in his hand. "Why couldn't you have listened to me and just stay at the house where it was safe? Why did you do it? Why, Goddammit!" He broke down in more tears for a few minutes before calming down enough to close her eyes as Lisa's sprite watched._

_Her killer started to moan in pain, bringing Jackson's full attention and what she saw within his blue eyes even made her skin crawl with fear as he slowly stood up to his feet after gently putting her body down. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his knife, clicking it open as he circled his prey. "So you thought you could get away with killing her?" He said very softly while stepping on the killer's right arm which caused him to cry out in pain._

_"I guess you deserve something a lot worse then what you did to the love of my life." Jackson smiled a cold, hard smile as his eyes became completely emotionless. Kneeling down he picked up the man's arm and held it tightly while twisting at a certain angle that wouldn't allow much movement. "I'll make sure that you suffer for every moment that you tortured her father and killed him." He said while making a cut in the man's palm. "And I'll make sure that you are still very much alive after what I have in store for you. You took the one person that mattered the most above life itself, I shouldn't' have much of a difficulty when I'm done."_

_"Fuck you to hell, Rippner." Her killer managed to spit at him before Jackson slashed with the knife, cutting off his fingers on the hand that he was holding._

_The screaming did nothing to compare to Lisa when she was being stabbed by her killer. Lisa felt a warm sensation on her shoulder and turned to find her grandmother beckoning her towards the light. "He will take care of him, Leese. Just let him go and come with me and your father into the light. I promise that you will find eternal healing and peace for your mind and soul."_

_Lisa allowed herself to be guided by the hand towards the growing light. Her heart was still heavy with the pain of the knowledge that she couldn't say her final words to Jack, but she could only pray that he would find the inner strength to move on with his life before it was his time to come home._

_Come home to her and be together for eternity._

_"Leese?" Grandma asked her just before they were going to cross over. "Can I ask you what your final words were going to be before you died?"_

_A single teardrop fell from Lisa's eye as she hugged her grandmother tightly for a moment. "I love you, Jack." She replied before continuing on their path._

Lisa woke up with a sharp gasp for air, her heart pounding furiously in her chest to the point that it almost hurt when she tried to take several deep breaths. Her whole body was covered in sweat from her nightmare. "It's only a dream, Leese." She told herself when her mind recognized that she was in her bedroom, sitting up in her makeshift bed of a soft mat and several blankets. "Its only a dream." She repeated as she threw her blankets back and got to her feet. She softly opened up her door and found the hallway lights were on at a dim setting and quietly padded into the main bathroom to rinse off her face with cold water.

"Leese?" Jackson suddenly called from his room as she passed by. Lisa hesitated but went to his door and opened it. Jackson was sitting on his makeshift bed, staring up at her with worry in his blue eyes as his laptop rested in his lap. He was dressed in only a sleeveless black tank top and sweatpants, his brown hair unruly with the ends curling around his neck. If it hadn't been for her nightmare, she would have instantly thrown herself at him and begged him to take her right there and then, not caring that there were other people in the house with them.

Jackson silently turned off his computer and put it aside against the wall before getting to his feet. Lisa watched him grab two towels from a shopping bag. "You look like you need a hot shower, Leese."

She let out a sharp snort and shook he head while turning around to go to the bathroom. "I'll be fine, Jack." She replied without any emotion behind it. "Just had a bad dream."

"Yeah, must have been so bad that you are covered in sweat." Jackson pointed at her damp pajamas. "Get into the shower."

She tried to protest, but the look that he gave her was all it took to send her scrambling before he said another word further. Lisa quickly stripped out of her pajamas and got into the shower, happy that they had at least thought of buying a shower curtain and bath supplies on their shopping spree earlier in the evening before coming home to eat some Mexican takeout food. She slid the curtains shut and ran the hot water, almost groaning with relief as her tense muscles began to relax from the comfort that the soft shower head spray setting.

Jackson closed the bathroom door behind him and locked it before tossing the towels on the counter. He watched her silhouette for a moment in silence before stripping out of his clothes and joining her as she let out several outrage remarks. "Just shut up, Leese." He snapped at her. Lisa fell silent as her body instantly reacted to the close proximity of his nakedness. She felt herself shiver under his look and turned her back on him, grabbing the soap bar and a washcloth and started to lather it so she could wash her body off.

"Let me do it, Leese." He told her, grabbing them out of her hands. "Just lean against me and relax."

"But your naked." She cried feebly as she did as he asked her to.

"So? You saw me naked in your apartment after I showed up that first day." He snorted while he began to gently move the cloth over her arms, taking great care to rub over her hands and fingers before carefully scrubbing upwards towards her shoulders. "Just close your eyes and let me do all the work." Jackson whispered in her ear. "Trust me."

Lisa felt her eyelids slowly close as she tilted her head upwards to the falling water as Jackson angled himself to where she was leaning her head against his chest for support. She felt his beating heart and smelled his unique scent of his body while she allowed him to clean her gently as if she was the most precious thing in the world that could easily break. Jackson slowly turned her around so she was facing his body and guided her forward until they were touching skin on skin, her cheek resting on his breast. "Keep them closed, Leese."

"I will." Lisa heard herself respond as all the warm sensations that she was feeling within herself began to slowly ease throughout her whole body. Jackson was trusting her with his life and physical self by being in the same space with her as he washed away the sweat and tears.

Jackson , the one who once held a knife to her.

The same man who's eyes had held nothing but pure rage when he saw her scar for the first time in that tiny airplane bathroom.

The one who refused to give into his rage and let her live, only to be shot four times in the back by her father and lived.

The same hands that were washing her now, had left deep imprints upon her soul and body when she allowed him to make love to her a little in the interview room.

And the same person that promised his return into her life, only to become her only protector from the world that was after her life. Shielding her with his life on the line as he watched over every second that she was within his sight.

"Jack?"

"Yes? What is it, Leese?"

Lisa forced herself to open up her eye and stare into those blue orbs that only grew soft for her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and planted a kiss upon his beating heart before smiling up at him. "Thank you."

Jackson was at a loss of words as the only woman he ever loved, stared up at him with trust and compassion. "Anytime." He replied before rinsing them both off. "Let's get you dry and dressed." He said as he shut off the shower and opened up the curtain. Lisa obediently got out and wrapped a towel in her hair while he dried her off before leaving her alone for a moment to get clean clothes. He returned shortly after with a long black t-shirt and sweats in hand, already dressed in a clean pair of pants for himself, but topless as he handed the clothes in hands to her. "These should work fine until we go clothes shopping in a few days." Jackson said as Lisa accepted them with a small silence.

He put his hands over his hips while watching her dress. "If you like, you can sleep with me tonight." He suggested softly. Lisa pulled his shirt over her head after taking out the towel. He allowed a small smile to appear on his lips since she looked rather cute in his clothes and damp hair. "Sexy." He purred as he opened up the door for her.

"Thanks." Lisa said with a roll of her eyes. She kept silent while they walked into his room. "Which side do I sleep on?"

"Whichever you want." Jackson motioned to the mat. "Take your pick." He turned off the lights while Lisa laid down on the right on her side. Jackson slipped behind her and gently covered them both up, tucking her in more so she felt secure before placing a arm over her form. "Goodnight, Leese."

"Goodnight, Jack." He heard her sleepily reply before a small yawn took her and soon, she was sleeping soundly, her slender body pressed up against his.

Jackson caressed her cheek with his fingertips as he watched her sleep. She needed someone to watch over her during their first night in an unfamiliar place. "Sleep well, Leese." He said softly before laying down his head. "I'll keep you safe from your nightmares."

Five minutes later, the two of them were sleeping soundly as the night lengthen into early morning hours, a sweet promise to a new day with new beginnings for them both as the danger itself slowly began to mount elsewhere in Miami for a unsuspecting Mr. Reisert as he paced back and forth in his home with a worried expression on his kind face.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ Sorry for not updating within in the last several days, I am on vacation in Texas so my access to a computer has been taken up by my sightseeing and such. But here is a new update for all of you to read until I return home.**

**Chapter 18: Settling Old Habits**

* * *

Things started to fall into place once the house was well furnished and stocked with food, basic necessities and such. Not to mention the secret delivery that Jack got two weeks after their arrival by a unmarked police car that was delivering several stashed suitcases of ammo and weapons.

Lisa didn't say much but to voice her concern of where they were going to hid the weapons from sight in such a house. Jackson merely smirked as he and Terry worked on creating a false wall in his bedroom to hide the weapons. "Always got to ask the questions, Leese." Jackson had told her before gently pushing her out of his room and shutting the door behind her with a slight slam.

"Why must you always be like this to me, Jack?" She cried through the locked door. Two male chuckles made her scream in frustration before she turned around and headed downstairs to make herself a meal for lunch.

Now fast forward to about a month into their stay and one would think that everything was perfectly normal to the naked eye. But underneath it all, Lisa's nerves were starting to get racked as she went through the process of accepting herself not as Miss. Lisa Reisert anymore, but as Miss. Sara Collins; newlywed wife to Mr. Jack Collins and her two older "brothers", Terris and Rome. Why the hell the two bodyguards plus Jackson didn't do much changing to their real names, was all above Lisa's head as she tried to remember her new identity and learn the ways to live in the big city of Ontario.

Living with Jack in particular was like going up and down a roller coaster with no end in sight. He often preferred to remain alone, exercise a lot during the day or just locked himself up in his room before unexpectedly running off to "take care of some business" while leaving her alone with Terry and Romeo. Lisa didn't really know if she could bring herself to be fully drawn to Jack as she used to be when they first met before the redeye flight, but she did find herself wondering at times what it was like to be in his shoes. Never being able to settle down with a woman, start a family, always on the run, keeping one eye open with a gun nearby in case someone tried to kill you, keeping false promises to both lovers and business people, and the list went on and on till she felt like screaming out loud to the world.

How could he live like this and be the person that he was without an conscience?

Well, perhaps that was the wrong perception. He did have one for obvious reasons or else she would have been six feet underground four years ago after she had successfully foiled his attempts of assassinating the Keef's. And now that she realized it as she sat in a house that had live surveillance, two bodyguards that switched guarding her and Jack, always on guard on her introduction of herself to the outside world, new look with shorter hair that was a different color, fake ID cards, fake story persona, Lisa could feel the loneliness that came out of hiding and shedding one's real personality.

Jack was so used to his job and being able to blend in with his surrounding as easily as a snake shed's it's dead skin that he was a person that had may layers to himself and his mind. Lisa didn't know much of anything about him and his past as she knew what he was now as she knows him.

A cold-hearted killer who works for an unknown organization and is their top prized manager, somehow fell for the likes of her.

That same person that had touched her soul like no other man has and made her feel like a woman inside. Lisa Reisert was on some levels, obsessed with her former attacker/protector, but it didn't mean she didn't think about the implications that this current situation could bring out of the both of them as the coming days continued to pass by.

"Leese?"

"Leese, are you even listening to me?"

Lisa snapped her head up from her inward musings to find Jackson staring down at her from the latter he was using to install another security camera on the outside gate. "I'm sorry, Jack." she quickly apologized while handing him a hammer. "I was just spacing out."

"So I can see for myself." Jackson smirked with a shake of his head before turning back to his work. "You have been doing that a lot as of late. Anything on your mind that you want to tell me about?"

She watched him for several moments while staring down at a small pink daffodil flower by her foot. "I'm still very much worried about my father and sister back home. I have been out here for almost a full month and every morning that I wake up, I wake up wondering to myself if I made a correct choice of allowing you to whisk me away from all that I know and love without saying goodbye properly." Looking back up, she found him staring at her again intently, eyes almost hard but soften enough to where she knew he was paying careful attention to what she was saying.

Those blue eyes that only softened in her presence alone.

Lisa laughed a little. "I'm being stupid. Of course either choice that I would have made when you told me that someone was after my life, it wouldn't have made much difference."

"I rather beg to differ with you on that subject, Leese." Jackson replied casually while he hammered a few nails into the wood where the camera was installed. "You are still breathing, are you not?"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts are allowed around me." Jackson warned her with a finger in the air. "I have made it this far in keeping you alive, the least you can do for yourself is put your mind at ease with the fact that my men back in Miami are keeping an eye on your father."

"But how do you know that they weren't turn on your back if you are not there to supervise them?" Lisa asked him, taking a step back as he came down the latter with a huge sigh.

"I don't." He replied flatly. Lisa bit her bottom lip. "I just go by ear and if someone indeed turns on me," He paused to allow the silence to sink in. "I can always eliminate one person with a single phone call." Jack continued. He wiped his dirty hands on his jeans and headed back to the back of the house. "You of all people, Leese, should know how much power I hold over a company and their people."

Lisa shivered in-spite of the warm weather they had been having within the last week. She rubbed at her arms while following him to the shed. Jack didn't have much patience when it came to other people and their line of work, but only with her, did he build a small tolerance for her constant barrage of questions and arguments. Jackson put away his hammer and tool box while she stood by the door. "So why did you do all of this for me, Jack?"

"Because, Lisa." He tossed her a sharp glance. "I don't want to lose my job as a manager of this Organization and no one would be very happy on your side if you were dead and I became the number 1 suspect without any hard evidence. So does that answer your question, Leese?" He walked out of the shed and slammed it shut, locking it place. "I told you in the beginning, if you want to stay alive long enough to see your beloved daddy and sister, there were going to be rules that you had to live by while you are with me." He continued. Jackson took a seat at a nearby bench and motioned for her to do the same beside him.

"You want to live, right?" He asked her, watching her facial expressions as Lisa stared at her feet . "Lisa, if you are having second doubts about any of this, I hate to break it to you that it's much to late to turn around for _all of us_ in this game."

Lisa didn't respond as she continued to stare, her heart bleeding with sadness of not being able to see her family and home, but her mind still reeling from the trauma and confusion that she had been enduring within these last few years of getting her life together again. She always knew that he would one day show up at her place and try to insert himself in her life once more.

They couldn't live without each other nor could they stand being apart if the other one was hurt or in danger. Jackson had slowly transformed himself from the monster he had revealed himself to be in her eyes those four years back into the person that was sitting only an inch away from her right now.

But it didn't erase the fact that her father and sister could face possible harm from the same danger that was hunting her down.

"I suppose that I want to live." She said softly while slowly lifting her face upwards to the sky, eyes closed and hair being ruffled by the wind. "There is still many things in this life I want and dream to happen." She said in a stronger voice. "I want a husband, kids, a home that is filled with my father's laughter and my sister's teasing. I want to go places, see the different parts of the world, discover secrets that have never been seen before."

Lisa opened her eyes and stared directly into his blue eyes. "But most of all, I just want to be happy with you someday, Jack." She slowly placed her hand in his, curling her fingers tightly before laughing softly as a wind suddenly picked up for a moment. "I want to be free from the darkness and dangers that life puts in our ways."

Jackson stared down at their joined hands for a long time in silence. "Its a beautiful dream, Leese." He said gently as he drew her into his arms and hugged her tightly while breathing in her scent. "But its something that I cannot risk as long as I am working for the Organization. I can only risk you and you alone. But its not like I'm not human enough to not give proper thought of the what if's and maybe's."

"Then you don't love me enough to try and at least work something out now between you and I?" Lisa stated while pushing herself out of his arms. She got up before he could touch her again and wrapped her arms around her middle, a familiar sight that he had grown used to as a sign of insecurities.

"No, that's not what I mean, Leese." He protested while getting to his feet. Jack cursed under his breath, his head starting to hurt due to a growing headache he had been having since this morning. "Leese, just listen to me." He started again calmly. "I want to try and have a relationship with you, but you need to know that the more involved I am with you, the more weaker I become." He placed a hand over his heart. "It's only in here that I'm weak and I can't risk that emotion to get in the way of what I need to do."

"Then perhaps old habits are hard to kill after all, Jackson." Lisa said before stalking back to the house without another word or glance back at him. The front door opened as Terry came outside, only to slam violently against the door frame as Lisa passed inside, leaving the poor bodyguard rubbing his ears as Jackson stared at the house with tight lips.

"Old habits, Leese?" Jackson whispered as he continued to stare at the closed door. "We shall see about old habits when I leave you burning and aching for my touch alone. Only thing will you understand why you make me do so many fucken backbreaking hoop jumps to keep you alive." He smirked and stared upward at the darkening sky. "You just better hope that I don't decide to tie you up to your bed and make my way until you are begging for me to take you." With that thought, Jackson headed inside, ignoring his bodyguard's questions and headed straight to the one room that would help clear his mind for a few hours.

The soundproof practice gun room where he kept his personal weapons under lock and key.

He needed to shoot some targets or else someone in this house was going to see holes in the walls and he was sure his pretty Leese would not appreciate her walls being riddled with bullet holes.


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ **

**Chapter 19: Love's First Bliss**

* * *

Jack finally put away his gun in the gun case and glance up at the clock on the wall. It was about two in the morning and he had been practicing his rounds since the early evening hours, taking only two hours to rest and eat before going back into his soundproof room and locking himself in. Leese hadn't shown up to the dinner table so he suspected she must have taken her meal in her bedroom before going to bed.

Chuckling darkly to himself, he quietly made his way up to his own room and took a hot shower before emerging with only a pair of black boxers and a white sleeveless tank top on his body. He didn't know what was possessing him to do so, but he padded out into the small hallway and walked the six steps to hers, slowly opening up her bedroom door as to not awaken her.

What he saw before his eyes took his very breath away.

Leese was sleeping soundly on her stomach, naked underneath her silk sheets while the soft glow of the full moon outside drifted into the bedroom through the open blinds onto her bare profile. Jack swallowed hard as he closed and locked the door behind him, his heart hammering in his chest like a racket ball bouncing against the wall.

What the hell was he even doing in her room? He was acting like a lovesick adolescence who was nervous for his first time with a woman.

Except...this would be more like Leese's first time since she was brutally raped and stabbed by her rapist years ago.

A first time with him would be like having sex with a rough person who didn't prefer being gentle at all. Jackson closed his eyes and remembered the moment she had opened herself in the most vulnerable way, scared, yet willing to give a tiny piece of herself just so he wouldn't easily forget her while he was locked away.

His beautiful Leese, sweet, yet fiery and spicy under his tongue, her scent intoxicating him beyond a reason and doubt.

Yeah, Jackson Rippner was a sick bastard, but a sick bastard who's heart who only cared for her, and her alone.

He slowly advance to the bed, his feet not making any noise as she mumbled something incoherently in her sleep before slightly turning onto her side, the sheet falling away to reveal the fullness of her breasts to his gaze.

Maybe he should leave before it was too late for the both of them.

Maybe he should stay.

_No, leave._

_No, stay._

_Leave._

_Stay._

"What the fuck." Jackson cursed under his breath while shoving some of his hair out of his eyes with a frustrated sigh.

"Jack? What are you doing in my room?" Lisa was staring up at him with glassy eyes, holding the sheet to her naked breasts as Jackson froze in place above her. "Is there something wrong?" She asked in a clearer voice. "Are you alright?"

Jackson nearly snorted at the last question. Of course he was fine. Nothing in the world could possibly harm him, unless it was a little woman name Lisa Reisert who held his heart in her small hands like a delicate piece of breakable glass.

"I was only checking up on you. I thought I heard you call out in your sleep, so yeah." Jackson lied evenly while turning back around to let himself out.

"Wait, Jack." Lisa cried. She bit her bottom lip for a moment or two before sitting up straighter and moving her legs back to make some room on her bed. "If you want to stay for a while, that's fine with me. I don't really mind at all, um..." A little blush began to show on her fair cheeks. "Your presence here." She quickly finished.

"Are you sure?" He asked just to be on the safe side. "I don't want to make you feel awkward or uncomfortable."

"Please." Lisa waved him off. "If you did I would have already been yelling at you to get out of my room before I take a pen to your throat."

"Uh-huh. Yeah right you would have."

Lisa tilted her head back as he came to stand before her. "So what are you doing here?" She pointed at her floor. "Something on your mind?"

Jackson thought of all the possiblites that he could have said right there and then, but in the end, he just wanted to tell the truth for once and not have any lies stand between them.

"I want you." He whispered softly while cupping her chin in the palm of his hand. "I want to kiss you. Worship the ground you walk on. I want to hold you and tell you that I will always keep you safe no matter what the cost just so that you are no longer scared."

She gasped softly as his other hand slowly grabbed the sheet from her and pulled it off her chest, allowing it to slide to her lap as her chest rose rapidly under his light touch over her heated skin. Lisa should have pulled away from his touch, but her inner yearning after four long years of fantazing and imagning his touch and kiss upon her had made her want this man even more so.

Forget all that he said and done to her in the beginning of their first encounter.

That was then, and this was now.

Jack had said what they both had secretly desired since they first laid eyes on each other.

He wanted her and she wanted him like no other woman her age could want.

"Then why don't you, Jack?" Lisa said quietly. Closing her eyes, she leaned her cheek in the hand that held her face and softly kissed the pads of his fingers. The soft hiss she heard from him made her body flush with need. "Jack?"

"Yes, Leese?"

"Make love to me tonight." She told him boldly. "Make me feel like a woman's first time with you."

Jackson couldn't believe what he was hearing from her lips. She was actually willing to expose more than just herself to him. This meant that opening herself in a way that she had never experienced would mean that they had to trust one another completely to the end, and perhaps even beyond this moonlit night.

"Alright, but I must warn you that I'm not an easily lover, Leese." He confessed with a half smile. Jackson knelt before her and slowly ran his hands over her bare arms, trying to make her accustomed to his touch while she stared up with only trust as she gazed into his darkening blue eyes. "But we can take it slow tonight just for you." He whispered while placing a kiss on her lower hip.

She drew a sharp breath that quickly turned into a low moan in her throat. "I trust you completely, Jack. I know you won't hurt me like he did."

"Shh, my Leese." Jackson covered her lips with his own to silence her words. "Lets not bring up the past in this present moment. Just let your body feel and go with the flow. Its only you and me now. Not anyone else."

Time seem to stop between them as Jackson hovered over her, kissing her softly upon the lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck as she dragged them both back against the pillows. How much she had longed for this moment seemed like a seared moment that stood in eternity that never had the hope of becoming true until this night when one of them took the brave step towards that closed the door and throw it open, not caring what the consequences were going to be for them after it was all over.

Jackson took his time with her, touching her skin lightly with his fingertips as if she was going to blow away at a moment's notice. It was almost like a dream to his mind as he watched her facial reaction, heard her gasps and moaning of his name falling from her lips before he captured them in a hot kiss that made their minds dizzy.

"I'm a little hot, Jack." Lisa said after a while as they laid side by side for a moment to catch their breath from the intoxicating moments of foreplay. Jackson smiled upon her that made her smile back brightly. He silently pulled off the sheet, leaving her fully naked before him as he quickly removed his own clothes and tossed them off to the side.

He chuckled lightly when she glanced down at his harden cock and blushed beyond the color of red. "It's going to fit if that is what you are wondering about, Leese." Taking a hold of her hand, he guided her to his cock and showed her how to wrap her fingers around his girth. "Now you do the rest of the work."

"Um, what am I supposed to do, Jack?" She asked him uncertain if he was going to get bigger than what she was looking at right now.

"Just move your hand up and down. You will see what will happen." Another heartbreaking smile was all it took her to do as he said. Jackson laid himself back against the pillow to help give her a much easier access while he watched her innocent movements with amusement touching his lips. A low groan soon slipped from him as Lisa began to slowly grow her confidence. "Damn, Leese. I swear you are trying to destroy my control right now."

She slyly looked up at him, her green eyes glowing brightly underneath the moonshine behind her. He swore that she looked like a total goddess in that moment, her white skin glowing with hint of blushing in her cheeks and those eyes shining so brightly, Jackson almost wanted to capture that moment forever.

"My turn." He said suddenly tossing her onto her back as she let out a squeal of laughter.

"Jack!" she cried as he began to tickle her playfully around the belly and arms. "Stop! I can't take it anymore if you continue to tickle meeee!"

After a few more moments of playing around, Jackson stopped tickling her and just sat back with his face cupped one hand while leaning back on the pillow. Lisa turned around onto her side so she could get a better look at him. "So what now?" She asked innocently.

"Whatever you want to happen next. I'm all yours." Jackson replied as he rolled himself over until he was hovering directly above her. "Are you sure that you want to do this, Leese? I want to be able to give you the choice of saying no if you think its not right yet."

"Jack, how much longer are you going to keep asking me that question when you already know the answer." Lisa shook her head. "I want you and that's my final answer." She leaned her head upward and kissed him deeply before pulling her head back slightly. "Now shut up and finish what you started before I throw you out of my room." She joked with a laugh.

Jackson buried his face in the crook of her neck while gently kneading her breasts between his hands until she was groan with pleasure. This was his woman and no one was going to take her from him. "That's it, baby." He encouraged her while his hands drifted lower down her body. "Just let me do all the work while you relax."

All of his touches over her body made Lisa turn to jelly and cause her womb to flame with need as he made her beg and beg for the need of completion. She needed to feel him move within her, make her burn and yearn for everything possible that Jack was willing to give until there was no more to spend. Jackson cupped her wetness and was satisfied that she was beyond ready for his raging cock and it was almost breaking him down to a million pieces as he fought to keep from cumming too soon.

Taking a deep breath, he used his eyes to signal her that it was time for them to join as one body. Lisa's lips trembled but she quickly nodded her head, sucking in a deep breath as she felt him slowly slide inch by inch, stretching her beyond her wildest imagination as he softly told her continue breathing deep breaths while continuing to push forward until she took him to the hilt.

Jackson stopped moving for a moment to gather his breath and check on Lisa as she let out a deep sigh. "Does it hurt?" He asked, caressing her damp cheeks before placing a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"No, it feels..." She paused for a moment to think with a frown. "It feels sweet." She finished. "To be honest, no words can describe what I'm feeling right now."

"Peachy." He managed to say between clinched teeth. Jackson could feel every inch of her inner muscles clinch and ripple around him until it was almost like she was going to practically make him spill his seed right there if he didn't start moving soon. Slowly pulling out half way, he kept his eyes on hers while moving forward, relishing the sharp cry from her pretty lips as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and began moving in sync with his movements.

Lisa tilted her head back while she held onto tight to his shoulders. Her head was spinning out of control with the pleasure he was building within her body and mind, stroking the fires within her until she swore she could feel them shoot in all directions of the room while he slowly began to build up the pace, slamming her harder and harder until she had to bite down on his shoulder with her teeth just to prevent the scream that threaten to come out of her lungs.

"Just let it out, Leese." Jackson ordered her while he paused mid-stroke. Lisa let out a frustrated sound and scratched her nails along his sweaty back, making him growl darkly at the sharp pleasure/pain. "Oh, so you wanna play rough now, my kitty?" He purred before thrusting his hips forward which earned him a another deep scratch that no doubt left blood trailing after it. "Then so be it, my Leese."

He grabbed her hips and rolled them over with her on top and him underneath. "Does kitty wanna ride her master to death?" Jackson had the gull to smirk as she swatted him over the head. "Hey, watch the hair." He cried while grabbing her hand in his.

"Like its going to matter once I'm done with you, Jackson." Lisa slow began to move herself up and down on his cock. She enjoyed the feeling of having at least one thing of power over him. Jackson's eyes fluttered shut as his spine tingled from the pleasure of her warmth surrounding him. "Are you enjoying this, Jack?" Lisa panted between breaths as she leaned herself forward until her breasts were hovering over his mouth. "Or should it be more like this way instead?" She slowly circled her hips around until Jackson grabbed at her waist and began thrusting himself into her hard. "Fuck, Jackson!" She cried while holding onto his wrists. "Yes, that's it, Jack. Make me yours, please! I need to feel all of you inside. It burns way too much for me. I don't think I can handle it much longer!"

Lisa screamed his name just as her climax began to spiraled out of control. Jackson held back for a few more minutes before finally his own raging orgasm ripped through his body like someone had socked him in the gut, spilling loads and loads of hot cum deep withing her womb as he continued to furiously pound her away until there was nothing left to spill. After what seemed like forever, Lisa collapse in a sweaty heap on top of him, completely out of breath while her heart and head pounded from all of the excitement and lovemaking.

She could smell herself and his combined musky male scent on them both as Jackson murmured a few endearments in her ear while reaching down for the cool sheet to cover them both up. "That was beyond any words that I can possible describe in all the languages that I know how to speak." Jackson laughed while he played with a few locks of her damp hair between his fingers.

"Peachy." Lisa let out a big yawn as her exhausted, yet fully satisfied body relaxed against his warm body, her face leaning over his rapid heartbeat as his steady breath lulled her to a fast sleep. "I love you, Jack."

His hand stop stroking her back for a moment. Looking down at her small form, something seemed to changed within his mind while she innocently held on tightly to his shoulders, a small smile touching her swollen lips. Was it possible for after all to give her what she wanted if they were able to survive this ordeal together?

Pushing the worried thought aside, Jackson wrapped his arms around her snugly and kissed her upon the head. "I always had loved you, Lisa Reisert. From the moment I had first seen you when I was watching you. I fell in love and never looked back when you captured my heart in more ways then one." He said, not caring she heard him in her sleep. "Just sleep and I will be here when you wake up in the morning, love."

His eyes slowly drifted closed and he too, was fast asleep with the woman he loved lying near him, trusting and unafraid just as long as her strong warrior was there to protect her from whatever harm there was in the real world.

Maybe that was more then either one of them could possible ask from the other.

Love's first taste of bliss what the sweetest thing that one could experience in the arms of a killer who's heart was filled goodness within.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ **

**Chapter 20: Sworn Enemies**

* * *

Joe Reisert stared outside his front kitchen window for what seemed like an eternity, lost in thought about his little Leese as the every growing feeling of dread filled his stomach until he felt like he was going to be sick.

A full month since she had unexpectedly ran for her life with the last person he would have ever trusted since the traumatic events of the Red Eye flight and failed mission of the Organization.

And still not a single word, note, call, or even perhaps someone showing up at his doorstep with some form of news, be it good or bad, about his favorite daughter. It had taken him some time to accept the fact that she was no longer under his protection or that of the federal agents that kept watch over her movements. All the tears, fighting, shouting and emotional breakdowns had made him much older than he wanted to feel inside.

Already sixty-seven years old, Joe was a retired police captain/ chief with high honors who did what he needed to keep his city safe. Even it meant as far as selling himself to the same Organization that Jackson Rippner works for in order to take down the worst of the worst criminals.

Twenty-three years and counting.

Some would ask him why does he seem so overbearing around his daughter. Well, if you were the one who was subjected to the horror of a parent's worse nightmare of having to see the blood, the emotional and mental scaring of a rape, try to bring her back to life by any mean's necessary...and do it all over again after she had been emotionally traumatized for eight hours on a airplane and then some...hate to say it, but Joe would simply put it in this fashion.

You got to do what you need to do in order to protect those you love while killing those you hate.

That was the bottom line. He didn't forget his personal motto since he took the pledge to the Organization to help them get deals within his city so that the minor offenders would get off scot-free.

So then came the day that one of them by the name of Steven showed up to his doorstep, four weeks after Jackson's failed mission with a deal that left nothing undone.

Allow Jackson to become a free man within four years, Lisa would be watched over by the best of the best in the organization during the duration of him serving, and help them take out Senator Keef since he was seen in the public eye of their Organization and others, as a liability that needed to be silenced or else he would be the cause for federal government breakdown.

At first, Joe didn't believe any of the man's words until he started to show him proof of Keef's inner circles within the government were fully corrupted while being connected to other terrorist organizations in foreign countries such as in Russia and Pakistan. Much to his shock, the senator had over seventeen of Jackson's people from within Organization alone, who were paid spies and informants to the CIA, kidnapped and killed in remote areas of Mexico, their bodies mutilated and burned beyond recognition to prevent them from being ID.

Then there was the large amounts of money laundering from within the U.S. coffers to foreign banks that had Keef's fingerprints written all over. Plus, not to mention that billions and billions of dollars that he had made through "charity" that were instead being pointed to government intell being sold online or in person to anyone who wanted to know something from within the walls of the FBI and CIA.

Everything kept pilling up and up until Joe just broke down and said fine. He would help them take Keef out just as long as he knew for sure that his daughter was going to be completely safe from harm and association to them or even her own father, should anything go wrong during the mission.

Joe thought everything was going great after Lisa settled down with stepping down from manager to CEO at the Lux hotel on the Miami Strip, moving out into a little apartment that was far enough to where she wouldn't feel that he was breathing down her neck, but close enough to where he could quickly get to her place just in case something bad happened or she needed his help. She went to therapy every Saturday for an hour and half, stayed home or went out with friends occasionally, hanged out with him and Cynthia every other Sunday and during the holidays.

Lisa seemed fine and no one seemed to want to really get involved in any other way than just a friendly chart or two. Then that call on the night she ran off into the blue with Jackson everything froze into place and it was hard for Joe to even wake up without feeling worried to death.

What kind of life should one live, wondering if each day was going to be your last while a loved one was not allowed to call or make any sort of contact with her own father?

_"Riiiing!"_

The old man snapped out of his thoughts and rushed to the telephone by the fridge. Looking down at the caller ID, he saw it was an unknown number. He silently pressed the 'on' button and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Reisert, I got some good new and some bad news." Steven's wearied voice replied on the other line. "Which one you want first? Either way, I think you might get a little up there."

Joe grabbed a writing pad and pen from the nearby drawer. "Whats new?" He asked while he made a few mental notes.

"The good news is that your daughter has been well taken care of by Jackson and his two bodyguards. She has a job and...is this call recorded or anything?"

"Since when you are you concern about my phone line being tapped in all the long years I'v worked for you?" Joe replied a little flatly.

"Ever since I discovered who is behind wanting your beloved Lisa dead, Joe. Its going to be a lot messier then I had thought and to add more salt to the injury, everyone else here is scrambling to uncovered who else might have connections to the would-be assassin."

Joe strummed his fingers over the marble counter top while he stared around the kitchen, his hazel eyes going between hard and soft. "And I'm supposing that this assassin is someone you know, right?" He said finally without any emotion. "It wouldn't surprise me at all."

"Its going to after I tell you that all you need to know is right now sitting on your front porch in a yellow envelope. Read it carefully over and tell only those you can _absolutely_ _trust_, Joe. I mean it." Steven's voice became hard. "I only trust Jackson and you at this moment, no one else. If you need my help in anything else, you can use the phone I enclosed in the envelope. I don't trust your land line and I_ certainly_ don't trust those blues in your police force."

"You didn't tell me who it was you found out is behind all of this." Joe quickly said before the other man had a chance to hang up. "Who is it?" He cried.

"Everything is in that folder, like I said before. Now take care of yourself and stay alive. I've got a bad feeling that he might be going after you since he has had plenty of time to gather the necessary information about you and your whole family."

Joe was left standing at the phone with the other line dead. He slowly took several deep breaths before putting the phone back in its cradle. This was starting to get too much for him.

One month of being worried sick and now this? Just who was the man behind wanting his Leese dead?

Why is he even acting now when he had had four years to do it while Jackson was serving time in federal prison?

Crossing his heart, Joe went to his front door and opened it slowly while looking around his surroundings before bending over to pick up a medium sized envelope that seemed a little too heavy to just be a file and papers. he quickly closed the door behind him and locked it, drawing all the blinds down as he went upstairs to his office while opening up the flap.

Inside he found a single automatic semi-pistol with three loaded clips, four thick stacks of thousand dollar bills, a disposable phone that couldn't be traced and a file that contain information and photos. Joe's hands were beyond trembling as he put the money, gun, clips and cell phone in a carry-on case that he kept just in case of emergencies by his desk. Turning back to the file, he opened it to the first page and stared as if he had seen a ghost of his past.

"It can't be." He whispered. Rubbing his eyes, he blinked several times and found that it wasn't a lie.

He was staring into the face of the senator Keef himself. What the hell did he have against Lisa for any of this mess? Was it just because she was involved with Jackson who was the one in charge of seeing the senator's assassination four years ago?

The cellphone rang in the bag. Joe felt his head spinning out of control, but years and years of training, he reached for the bag and took out the cellphone. "Hello?"

"Good." Steven's voice said dryly. "You have everything you need and I have two cars waiting outside for you. They are my most trusted bodyguards who will be escorting you to a disclosed location where I'm currently at. They run only on my orders alone so you have no fear. I will forward a few other things as well once you safely make here and explain everything better in person."

"You better or else I might just take one of those clips you gave me and empty the rounds into your chest." Joe said very slowly. "I will be done in five minutes."

"Than I don't see why I need to bother talking further unless you have something to say about this assassin being senator Keef." There was a long pause between them before Joe managed to find his voice.

"Why Leese? Why now? After everything she's been through, why must she be subjected to hiding under false colors and names?" Joe cried in frustration while he gathered things to shove in his duffle bag. "I love her beyond death and I'd do anything to make sure that she's no longer hurt by anyone, not even Jackson himself."

"I don't know why Keef wants her dead, but base on the person whom we had a contract with at the time of us working on getting him removed four years ago, he had also had some internal ties within this Organization which is directly linked to you from the past. He has something against you and what that personal vendetta might be, I don't know. But what I do know as a person related to him, he won't stop until ether your dead, or shes dead. End of story. He has already killed many of my men in the past, do you really think he's willing to stop just to spare you a few tears over your daughter?"

"Then what should I do?" Joe asked mid-way of shoving a photo of his daughters in his bag.

"The question you should be asking yourself right now is how many federal laws and rules are you willing to break in order to see her live? Are you willing to kill them in order to see her walk down the aisle and perhaps hold your first grandchild in your arms?" Steven paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "If you say yes to either or both, then what difference does it make him for any of the criminals that I helped you put behind bars?"

"I suppose I don't have any choice in this matter since you all so desperately want him dead period."

"We all have choices in this life, Joe. We just have to go with the flow when we make the wrong on or deside who's going to die or live."

The line abruptly went dead. Joe stared at the phone and looked down at the front driveway to find two black SUV's waiting by the curb. Fingers curling around the phone, he let out a harsh breath before finishing up his packing and looking around the house that he had spent almost thirty-plus years raising two beautiful girls, working his job while carving a peaceful life for his family.

So much dramatic change in a span of ten years.

Shaking his head, Joe stepped out into the front porch and locked the door behind him before tossing the keep into one of the planter boxes. He walked up to one the SUV's where a tall man in all black suit jumped out to open the back door for him. "Sir." He said while helping to take his bag from him. "I will be your driver for the trip. Just let me know if you need anything along the way."

Joe stared at him for a moment. The man seemed not too young nor not too old. Perhaps he was around Lisa's age right now and was just working this job for the large sum of money the Organization brings in. "It's funny when the people you thought were trustworthy at one point, become your number 1 sworn enemy overnight." Joe replied softly before getting inside the truck. "I'll be fine." He added with a smile.

The bodyguard nodded and shut the door before getting in the driver's seat. They drove away quickly, leaving behind a small, quite suburban neighborhood in the wake of the coming storm.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ **

**Chapter 21: Awkward, but Peachy**

* * *

Things kind of got a little awkward between Jackson and Lisa after that unexpected steamy night of lovemaking. He was ever the gentleman to her whenever they were out of the house. But inside, that's when things got a little...

"I can't stand this anymore, Jack." Lisa suddenly cried irritably, throwing the book she had been reading on the table while glaring up at Jackson with hands over hips.

"What?" He asked confusingly. "Whats going on?"

Lisa blew two short breaths before pointing her finger at him. "Its you." She cried. "I can't stand the long silence between us or the tension I feel every time I am alone in a room with you. I mean, what the hell were you even thinking coming into my bedroom in the middle of the night and seducing me? Didn't you even have the brains to think first before you reacted?"

Jackson closed his laptop and folded his hands together while leaning forward slightly in his seat. He had been secretly dreading this encounter in his mind after the morning when they both woken up and couldn't really say anything about the previous night's events. Terry and Romeo had wisely kept their mouths shut, but he knew that they already known what went down in Lisa's bedroom.

Hell, she had been screaming so loud, he swore that the sounds alone would end up waking even the neighbors down the street as her body was racked with multiple orgasms.

"I didn't." He replied calmly. He swore he saw her face turn purple and blue as she pinned him with her glaring eyes. If the situation hadn't been so serious at the moment, Jackson would had called her an incensed kitty who was about to transform into a roaring tiger. "I was thinking about you had said earlier in the day. Things do need to change between you and I, but if its really a good idea to risk a mutual relationship right now with everything that's going on, I honestly don't know how we are going to be able to work it out."

"Are you just concern about the consequences of your actions after we had sex or are you thinking that having a one night stand with me is going to make things even better between us?" Lisa's lips thinned. She mumbled something under her breath that he couldn't quite catch. "Come on, Jack!" She cried with a roll of her eyes. "I told you already where my feelings stand right now about you. What's so hard about talking about yours?"

Jackson tapped his fingers on the table. "Maybe because I'm a guy and talking about one's feelings doesn't really fit my forte. So on that note, I think it would be wise that we just refrain from having any, shall I say, sexual encounters from now on to avoid this awkwardness you speak of, Leese."

He saw her fingers curl in a tight fist. "You are a total dick, Jack." She seethed. "And I hope you rot in hell for this." She added before turning on her heel and walking away from him.

"I was already rotting in hell while serving time, Leese." He called out to her departing back. "And I'll just give you and fyi that if you see any other man outside this house while I'm breathing, you better make sure he has a will written up."

"Fuck you, Jackson Rippner." Lisa shot back at him, tossing her middle finger in the air. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"Like you can even fire a gun properly to begin with, Leese. Your dad has a higher chance of killing me then you do." Jackson couldn't help himself as he heard her scream out her anger before the sound of a slamming door echoed throughout the house. It was both amusing but scary to see the angry side of Lisa. Smiling sightly to himself, Jackson reopened his laptop, ignoring Romeo's entry into the room as he looked back and forth between Jackson and the stairs.

"She flipped me off again." He said with a backwards gesture.

"And so? What do you want me to do about it?" Jackson shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "Its not like she's going to listen to anyone right now. You know how women are, they don't really like direct things from a man. It gets them all railed up to the point even I'd be scared to be around one."

"That may be true, but you understand that giving in to your body's desires, doesn't mean that it changed the situation between yourself and Miss. Reisert." Romeo replied respectively while taking a seat in one of the lounge chairs. "Unless," He held up a finger in the air. "You're willing to make a few changes in yourself to help accommodate that change. I know that I might be overstepping my boundaries here as a bodyguard, but as a fellow male with many good years of experiencing all the levels of the woman's mind; I think you should really take into consideration her personal feelings towards you and see if it will either help the both of you, or just add more risk and danger to the already dangerous situation."

Jackson's fingers stopped typing for a moment as he stared over his laptop at Romeo. "How so?" He found himself asking out loud.

"Well, first of," Romeo continued. "You have already made it very clear to the Organization where you stand about her overall exsistance. You told them to spend a large sum of the money for twenty-four hour surveillance while you were serving time, then once you managed to get out, you then told Steven that she wouldn't be much of a risk since you had no intentions of her being involved in any of the jobs you did. But then came along the death threat from this wanna-be assassin and in a snap of a finger, the whole situation changed and you found yourself once more involved with the woman again. So, you got to tell yourself before getting further involved with this relationship, is it really worth the risk for her to become your weak point or are you willing to turn around and make it your strongest asset to what it is you do for a living? I'd bet a million dollars of my paycheck that they are willing to work out a deal with you that would allow her to be of some help to us."

"Yeah, I'm sure she' would be, but what about her father's own involvement with us? That's the darkest secret that both ends have been keeping for years and I'm sure he didn't have any plans of her finding out that he was actively involved with helping us kill the Keef family."

"And since when does that make a difference with whats going on now between you and the girl?" Romeo pointed out while crossing his arms over his chest. Jackson felt like he was being berated by his father. Romeo clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "That secret isn't for you to tell her. Its her father's and only he alone will have to eventually speak up for his actions. Whether or not it will make a difference between them, that remains to be seen. But meanwhile, you have an issue to fix and if the both of you don't come to some sort of agreement before it gets blow out of the ballpark, mark my words, Rippner, this will be the undoing of you both in the end."

"So you're saying that if I don't acknowledge my feelings for her, its going to make things a worse for us overall."

"Exactly. So what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know."

"Well that excuse is starting to get a little old on my ears." Romeo said as he got to his feet. "Figure out what you are going to do about this relationship before it gets us all killed."

Jackson watched him leave before he tossed his gun on the table with an irritated growl. What the fuck did everyone expect him to say? Oh, its OK, just continue to live your life as if nothing happened that night? Lisa was really making things hard for him by holding her expectations from him too high. He wasn't good with allowing his personal feelings to get in the way while on a job.

Hell, technically speaking, he was going two jobs at once: Babysit her ass in order to keep her alive while trying to find a way to take out Senator Keef once again.

Staring intently at his gun, an idea suddenly popped itself up. He grabbed his gun and hurried upstairs to her bedroom. Not bothering to knock on the door, he slammed it open while Lisa suddenly jumped up from her bed in surprise. "Grab your jacket. We are going out." He ordered her curtly. "And I'm not taking no for an fucking answer, Leese." He added when she began to protest angrily. "You started this and we are going to end it once and for all. No petty games, not fucking lies. I'm tired of playing your little games of cat and mouse. You want to fuck with me mentally and emotionally, then allow me to show you exactly how its done."

"Where are we going?" She asked timidly him while taking out a heavy pea coat from her closet.

Jackson's lips curled into a very tight smile. "Someplace where we can't be disturbed by anyone around us, Leese." He drawled. Lisa swallowed hard as her green eyes became wide with slight fear. "Ah, don't worry, Leese. Its not going to hurt or anything. I just want to teach you a lesson for the day and then we can come back home and act as if nothing happen at all. That's really how you like to do things, isn't it? Act as if nothing happen while living a total shit ass lie?"

He grabbed her upper arm and hulled her down the hallway and stairs while passing Romeo on the way out. "Where are you going, Rippner?" He asked while following them to the car.

"We are just going out for a bit. I promise we will be back before dinner is on the table." Jackson smiled as he slammed Lisa against the passenger door. "Get inside."

"You don't have to be a dickhead about it, Jack." She said while opening the door. Romeo's face grew worried as he sensed the high tensions between the two of them.

"Maybe it would be best that I come along for the ride." He suggested as Jackson got in the car. "I don't want to have to end up retrieving two bodies and come up with an story of why the hell the two of you ended up killing each other."

"I don't need you today." Jackson growled as he turned the ignition. "And I'm not going to kill her. Why would I even do that if its pointless to keep her alive with a madman running around the world, trying to kill her first?" He slammed his door shut and drove the car out the main gate while Romeo helplessly stood there in frustration.

Terry hurried out from the house. "What just happened?" He asked his partner.

"I think the poop just hit the fan in the wrong direction, my boy." Romeo replied with a shake of his head. "I feel that _we_ are the one's keeping those two in once piece then the other way around."

"Did Miss. Reisert say something that she shouldn't' have said?"

The older bodyguard let another deep sigh escape him before gently guiding Terry by the arm back towards the house. "You will understand after I pour us a cup of hard Scotch. I feel much too old whenever I hear those two argue. Let's just hope that when they come back later on tonight, things will be smoothed over so we can continue on with the mission at hand before we all end up dead by either Jackson or Miss. Riesert's hand.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey, my readers ! Ladystarlet09 here. I have always wanted to do a bit of a Red Eye fanfiction story. Please leave a Review as always and keep an eye out for more updates!~ **

**Chapter 22: Practice is Always about Perfection of the Mind**

* * *

Jackson drove for almost an hour through the quite country side in total silence. Not once did he even say a word to Lisa who occupied herself by starting out of the passenger side window with her arms crossed tightly before her. Eventually they came to a secluded forest where there were lots of tress and natural wildlife. Jackson parked the car off to the side of the road and cut the engine.

"What are we doing here?" Lisa asked, looking around them as he reached behind his car seat and brought forth a silver briefcase before opening up his door.

"Get out." He told her before slamming it shut. Lisa bit her cheek but with a soft curse, got out of the car and slammed hers as well. She glared when he smiled tightly at her while pressing the car alarm. "Shall we be going, Leese?"

She resisted the urge to calling him out but thought better of it since they were in a place where there wasn't a soul in sight should something go down. Lisa fixed him with her glare as she started to follow him from behind. Jackson chuckled but didn't allow her to hear it. This place was the perfect area where it could just be the two of them without any interruptions from anyone.

He needed this just as much as she did. When was the last time where he was able to just let himself go for a time and enjoy the beautiful scenery of nature and life?

Oh, yeah. Never in his life.

"Where are we going, Jack?" He heard Lisa cry. "Do you even know where the hell you are going?"

"Nope, but I do know that wherever we end up, at least we won't be heard." He replied while looking up at the clear afternoon sky. She grumbled as she continued to follow him deeper into the forest until they came to a stop before a clearing that didn't have any trees. Lisa stared at it for a moment. "So what now?"

Jackson walked forward. "We are going to practice your shooting skill, Leese." He said holding up the silver case in his hand to prove his point. "And you are not going to walk around without knowing how."

"Isn't me shooting you enough, Jack?"

He laughed hard while knealing to the ground. He snapped open the top after turning the six-digit combo on the briefcase. "Remember, Leese. Your father was the one landed the other two while your shot just grazed my lower abdominal area." He held up a sliver semi-auto pistol after loading a clip into it. "This is yours."

"I don't want it." She said with a back step. "I think I'll pass."

Jackson's face remained blank as he stood up to his full height. "Look around you, Leese." He told her in a quite voice. "You are in a middle of nowhere and I am the one who is carrying the car keys. So try and run if you can, I'll always catch up to you. Take it, Lisa or else I'll force you to."

Lisa's hands started to become clammy as she slowly reached out and placed her hand over the butt-end. Jackson let it go, forcing her to grabbed it with both hands as he drew his in a blink in a eye, pointing it directly at her forehead. "Never let your guard down when you are being confronted by someone who has the upper hand." He said unemotional. "It doesn't serve you any purpose to keep dropping it when you are fighting for life." He continued while circling her with his gun drawn. Jackson motioned with his free hand at the gun in her hand. "Now show me how you hold it."

Lisa lifted the gun with both hands, holding it with between them like she was cupping something. "Like this?"

Jackson shook his head as he put away his gun in the band of his pants. "Wrong." He gently repostioned her hands, her right resting below the one that held it. "Always keep your thumb on the cocking mechanism at all times, you never know when one second is the line between life and death. Your left is the one holding the gun while the right keeps it in place as you point it at the person whom you want to shoot. Now pull the cocking mechanism."

She did as he told her. Jackson stepped off to the side. "Now I want to shoot that tree over there." He pointed at a tall evergreen tree that stood less than ten feet from where they stood. Lisa looked up at him with a hesitant expression. "Remember what I said, Leese. Never pause to think, just shoot." He reminded her. "Now shot the tree."

She fired the first shot, almost falling onto her butt when the gun recoiled in her hands. Jackson grabbed her arm before she could, taking the gun away from her. "Learn to keep your balance and stand your ground firmly. I know that this gun might be a little more powerful then what you used last time on me, but power does matter in dire situations. The bullets within this gun are your lifeline. Think of it as if its a part of your body instead of a foreign object that you are not use to handling. Now do it again, but plant yourself with both feet slightly spread apart, angel your body too. If they are shooting at you from either close range or far away, you need to be able to duck aside and get yourself into a proper hiding spot where its easier to take them out."

Lisa took deep breath and slowly let it out. The gun itself was very heavy in her hand. Her damp skin made it feel colder as she lifted it once more while taking the stance that Jackson described. She felt Jackson's hand come underneath hers as he kept it firmly pointed at the tree she had shot ealier. "Breath, Leese." He whispered in her ear. Her skin tingled from the soft caress of his warm breath upon her neck. Her heart was hammering fast. "I can't do this, Jack." She told him in a trembling voice. "I can't kill another person."

"Leese, you tried to kill me with your father's gun after I had attacked you." He countered with smirk. "What makes this situation any different if it was perhaps someone else? I had attacked you and beat the fuck out of your pretty body before you managed to get away and shoot me. Then again, your father was the one who landed the last rounds into me. So suck it up and just shot the damn thing."

"I can't!"

"Lisa Reisert, shut up and just do it before I lose my temper right now and show you what exactly _I_ do with mine to help take my anger out."

Closing her eyes tightly, she fired it. Jackson swore. "That was a good one, but still not dead center."

"What does it matter, Jack? Can't I just shoot the guy to injure him so I could get away?" She asked him. Jack glared.

"What exactly happened after you took that damn pen to my throat, Lisa?" He said to her severely. "Or when I hit you from behind after you took that stupid hockey stick to me or after I threw you down the stairs? Did I stop after any of that? Did I just lay there and take it like a weak dog 'just so you could get away?' Do you realize who the hell you are talking to?" He pointed at his chest as she could only stand there in silence. "I am the top of the top that my Organization has for a efficient manager. I could blend in within a crowded area and you wouldn't even know that I'm there to take you out. I can speak more than ten different languages and I'm very good at "cleaning up" after myself, if you know what I'm talking about."

Lisa shivered despite the heavy coat she had on.

Jackson was a cold killer on the outside:

Always the calm one.

Always one step ahead of the others as he sized up his intended prey.

Always in control and smooth.

Never shaken when things go wrong. Then again, things probably never went wrong ever until she became his target in order to get a piece of Senator Keef and his family four years ago.

But as she stared up at his piercing blue eyes, surrounded only by nature and the sounds of the birds, she saw someone different despite what he was professionally.

"What was it like for you emotionally when you made your first successful kill?"

"You mean when I had sliced open the guy's throat after dealing with twenty other men, cut him up in a million pieces and burned them until he was nothing but a pile of ash?" Jackson replied sarcastically. He snickered when she started to become pale in the face. "Leese, this is just a part of my job. This little guy,?" He reached into his pocket, withdrawing the famous K-bar knife before her scared eyes. "This little guy is a part of my job. I get the assignment, assess my moving targets. Sometimes there is more than just one person involved. Sometimes I have to kill that other person just to keep my job safe and them silent. But there is always one rule that I have ever broken until now."

"Exactly what is that rule you broke?"

Jackson silently pressed the release button on his knife. It flipped upwards, the cold steel shining brightly underneath the sun's rays. "Never get personally involved with my targets, even if its a woman." He replied softly while using the tip to move a stray piece of hair out her face. "But that never really worked out for me once I saw your beautiful face and sparkling green eyes on the first night I started to watch you from my car. Then again, once you started to make things hard for me on the plane from Texas, I found myself being more intrigued by your fighting spirit to the point I really just didn't give a fuck about what I thought or did."

Lisa started to tremble violently as the cold blade lowered itself down her exposed neck, down further until it rested just above the edge of her blue blouse. Jackson slipped a hand behind her head and held her hair tightly between his fingers. "Oh, and one more thing, if you are being held at knife point, you can grabbed a hold of my wrist with both hands and twist it until I let go of it." He added as if he had forgotten an important point of the lesson. "Guns might take you out, but a knife always does damage faster then a gun. I think that is something that I'm sure you are very familiar with given your past history." He nodded his head towards her chest where the knife scar from her rape still left its mark upon her creamy skin.

He suddenly let go of her hair. Lisa had to wobbled a little bit to regain her balance. "But you never answered my question." She insisted while watching him put away his knife.

Jackson sighed deeply. "Lisa, all I can really tell you about my emotional state afterwards was that it was just like any normal job. They gave me the target and I personally killed them by hand. End of story. I don't really have any emotions to begin with whenever I'm doing my job and making my money. If you were in my shoes, training constantly, working with different kinds of people on all levels of the crime industry while double stabbing, I'm sure you would just be as emotionless as I am."

"But-"

"Leese, will you just stop interrogating me already so we can go back to what I was trying to teach you fifteen minutes ago?" He cried impatiently. "God, I don't have all day to do this."

He grabbed the gun from her hand and swiftly fired all remaining rounds at the tree within four seconds before tossing it back at her again. "Its all about practice." He said while grabbing another clip from the briefcase. "Practice, Lisa." Jackson continued almost business-like while reloading the gun. "Is all about the perfection of the mind. If you can't get your mind to be free of any emotions, even if your own loved one is in danger of being killed before your very eyes by the person who is trying to kill you," He held the gun out between them. "Then you are a dead target no matter what. Remember that last part, Leese. I can't always be around you when I am needed elsewhere by my boss. Sometimes you have no other choice but to learn how to properly defend yourself when the opportunity presents itself. Killing someone who is trying to hurt you isn't a bad thing. Its a part of life just as you and I are a part of this earth. And to make sure that you and I are clear about all of this, my work is purely trying to weed out the corrupted from both within society and the federal government. That's it. Nothing more and nothing less."

Lisa held out her hand. "Then I suppose you give me no other alternative but to learn from the best of the best." She conceded with a shrug. "If I want to continue living, then teach me everything you know."

"I'm not sure if you want to learn everything there is to know, Leese." Jackson grimaced. He scratched the back of his head. "There is much more that I' don't think you are going to like to learn from me if I chose to show you."

"Try me, Jack." Lisa challenged. "How bad could it get?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you really just say that last part?"

"And what if I did?"

Jackson let out several curse words while staring at the ground in deep thought. "You do realize that your wanna-be-assassin isn't going to kill you outright. He or she will want to torture you. Perhaps even rape you or beat you up until you are nothing but a bloody mess before deciding what method of kill to use. So if you truly want to learn how to survive all of that, I would strongly suggest you re-check your emotional/physical/mental capabilities before getting back to me on that particular part."

Lisa's head swirled as he motioned for her to point the gun at the tree. "So are we going to finish this lesson for today or are we going to have to spend the night in the car until morning and resume it then?" He asked calmly. "Because I have no worries just calling the boys up and letting them know that we aren't going to make it home for dinner."

Her stomach chose the right moment to let out a loud growl as she lifted the gun in the correct manner. "I'll just see how far I can get to the center before I call it quits." She replied between clinched teeth. "I'm fucken hungry and its fucken cold out here."

Jackson chuckled. "That's my good girl, Leese." He praised her while running his fingers through her hair. "I knew you had it in you to at least try just one more time. Its like everything else in life, practice always makes perfect, but perfection comes with determination of wanting to be perfect in every aspect of life." He lowered his mouth to her ear. "Just like the other night when we first made love to each other, you managed to perfect a few skills that even had me break down and lost control of myself. Just imagine how it would have been if perhaps I had instead left that night for hooker instead of you."

Lisa's teeth gashed together as she fired three rapid rounds into the tree. Jackson took once glance at it before turning upon her with the biggest smile she had ever seen. "Point made, you managed to shoot dead center this time without going out of just need to practice more and have a little personal provoking from time to time to bring your inner anger."

"One of these days, I think I might just kill you so I can get a little peace and quite in my life." Lisa told him while dropping the emptied gun. "I'll be waiting in the car."

Jackson watched her walk away from him before he called out with an amused laugh. "You don't remember where you are going, Leese. Keep walking like that and you might end up falling over a waterfall instead of the car itself."

"Fuck you, Jackson Rippner."

"Whatever you say, Leese." He smiled to himself. With his first attempt of trying to get Lisa to let out her anger through more suble motives, things looked like they might be getting back to normal for now until the next lesson he had in mind comes into play. "Just mind your wishing or you might end up getting something you didn't want at all." He finished under his breath while taking aim at the bullet-riddled tree.


End file.
